Wrong Impressions
by cypher2012
Summary: After Payson's rejection from the National team, Coach Sasha Belov becomes desperate to help her realize her dream and so he looks for help in the most unlikely of places.  Will this mysterious coach be able to help Payson? Set in Season 2. Sasha/OC.
1. Iced Out

**Hello, all. This is my first Make It Or Break It fic, so I have a confession. I know practically nothing about gymnastics or ballet so please forgive me for any mistakes or liberties that I may take. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters except for Maddy.**

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**Chapter 1: Iced Out**

Sasha Belov sat in his rental car outside of a small, nondescript gym, trying to summon the courage to face what awaited him inside. He knew that it would not be pretty, that he was about to face insurmountable odds, but it was for a matter of utmost importance. It was not for himself that he had traveled the two thousand miles to get here, to this small, barely inhabited town in central Maine, and that was why he could not back down, why he could not simply return to Boulder. He could not, would not, let her down. Payson was an incredible gymnast, with a drive and determination that could not be rivaled, and he desperately wanted her to succeed, but he was unconvinced that he could bring her back to form by himself.

Sasha sighed. _Best to just get it over with_, he thought.

Adjusting his sunglasses, he pulled the door handle and unfolded himself from the car. He stretched to his full height, pleased to move freely after his drive from the airport, and once again focused on the building in front of him. It was truly a dump. There was no other word for it, really. The paint was peeling and the parking lot only contained his rental and a small, silver SUV that wasn't flashy or expensive, but instead fit in exactly with the other cars that he had seen on the road.

Taking a deep breath, Sasha trudged toward the red, double doors, praying that they wouldn't be locked. Pulling experimentally on the handle, Sasha was surprised when the door flew open, affording him a view of the lobby area as he walked inside. Despite the outer appearance, the reception area was quite nice. It wasn't nearly as professional or impressive as The Rock by any means, but it was most definitely a contradiction to what he had expected. There was a brown leather sofa against the wall and several framed posters of gymnasts adorned the beige walls. A secretary's desk occupied most of the area, but it was currently vacant, a cup of coffee lying forgotten upon the desktop.

Removing his sunglasses and hooking the earpiece into the pocket of his t-shirt, Sasha began walking down the hallway that led away from the lobby. He passed two doors labeled with faceplates designating them the girls and boys' locker rooms, and continued on to another set of red, double doors. Knowing that this had to be it, that what he had come for had to be behind these doors, he flexed his hand before placing it upon the door handle, opening it silently as he sneaked inside.

* * *

Maddy loved this time of the day. She loved the peacefulness of the gym after all the other gymnasts had left and it was just her, reveling in the silence and smell of her sanctuary. In fact, she gave it her best effort to arrive only after everyone had already gone for just that reason. The owner of the establishment, a friend of hers named Jim, had given her her own set of keys several years ago. After all, it was her generous contributions that kept the gym open in the first place.

She loved this gym because it allowed her a quiet place to think, a place where she could feel at home when she was troubled or upset. Currently, Maddy was lying atop the high bar, an almost impossible feat of balance, breathing deeply and contemplating what it was that made this gym smell so remarkably great. True, it smelled of vanilla air freshener, chalk, and dust, but it also reeked of sweat, the product of several years of using the same equipment. It was just one of life's many mysteries, she surmised.

"Um, excuse me?" she heard a British accent ask.

Completely absorbed in her own thoughts, Maddy had not heard anyone enter the gym. This explained why she jumped, gasped loudly, and promptly fell the approximate eight feet onto the mat, landing flat on her face with a loud grunt.

"Oh my God," the man with the accent gushed, "are you all right?"

Maddy felt strong hands appear out of nowhere and attempt to keep her still. Ignoring the man's attempts, Maddy brought a hand to her forehead to brush her red hair from her face, pushing herself into a kneeling position with the other.

Squinting as she rubbed her head, Maddy responded with a sarcastic, "Peachy."

"Maybe it's best that you don't move," the man continued, hands fluttering about her as he tried to figure out what he should do.

"Nah," Maddy said, with a flick of her hand to show that it was no big deal, "I'm all right. Trust me, I've taken worse falls."

Shaking her head once, Maddy pushed herself to her feet and futilely brushed at the white chalk that had rubbed off onto the front of her hooded sweatshirt and shorts. She laughed and shrugged, before turning back around to face the man who had surprised her so thoroughly, only to be met with an even greater shock than before.

Before she could say anything, the man spoke, "Miss Reynolds?" he asked, then held out a hand. "My name is—"

"I know quite well who you are," Maddy interrupted him.

An anger and a coldness seeped into her voice and contorted her face into a less than friendly expression. She folded her arms across her chest and exhaled loudly, not entirely accepting that he was here, that he had found her.

Irritably, she continued, "I don't know how you found me, Mr. Belov, frankly I don't much care, but you can just turn right around and leave the same way you came. Thank you kindly." Maddy gestured with her right hand toward the double doors and flashed him a cold, insincere smile, effectively dismissing him as she turned her back before he could answer her.

She might have seemed cool and collected on the outside, but inside, Maddy's thoughts were roiling and her insides were cramping, a cold sweat breaking out over her body. How the _hell_ had he found her? She had gone several years without anyone being able to locate her and now he just showed up out of the blue? Why the heck was _Sasha Belov_, four-time Olympic gold medalist, tracking her down anyway?

It wasn't for any good reason, Maddy told herself. No, he just wanted what everyone else wanted from her, which was usually to ask her annoying questions or to persuade her to coach. Well, if he thought that he could just waltz in here and charm her with his suave British charm, he was sadly mistaken.

"Miss Reynolds," she heard Sasha insistently call after her.

"Uh-uh," Maddy said as she spun back to face him. "I just told you that I don't care why you're here. All I care about is that you take yourself back to wherever you came from."

"I just want to talk to you," he pleaded, holding his hands before him as if in surrender. "I just came to discuss a proposition. Please, just hear me out."

"No," Maddy said simply.

His expression was so confused and lost that Maddy almost laughed aloud. He had honestly thought that she would want to hear what he had come to say. Perhaps he thought that she would be wowed with his sudden appearance and humbled by his offer. Well, he had another thing coming.

Undaunted, Sasha continued, "I want you to come and coach." He paused, as if waiting for her to say something, but when she just stared blankly back at him he elaborated, "With me. At The Rock."

Again, Maddy answered with a monosyllable, "No."

Frustrated, Sasha rubbed his face roughly with one hand, placing the other on his hip as he sighed heavily. "Well, why not?" he asked irritably.

Keeping her anger from her face, Maddy responded in a voice that shook with her emotion, "I've never coached before in my life. Why would you come to me? Why ask _me_?"

"Because I need help and you're the only one who can give it to me," Sasha replied honestly.

Maddy was actually surprised by his answer. He needed her help? That was definitely a new one. Everyone else who had ever offered her a coaching position had never given her such a reason. Instead, most people had the audacity to act as if they were doing her a favor, as if she ought to bow and scrape at their feet for a job. Sasha's response was refreshing and, despite her best efforts, Maddy felt honored. Still, it wasn't enough to change her stubborn mind, though she spoke to him more politely now that she could see just how upset he was. He truly seemed as if he was at his wit's end and Maddy took pity on him.

"Look, Mr. Belov," she began, "I appreciate you coming here. I appreciate your offer."

Sasha looked up from the ground with undisguised hope in his eyes. "But?" he asked.

"But," she continued, "I'm just not interested in coaching."

Sasha nodded his head resignedly, staring back down at the floor. A thoughtful expression came over his face and Maddy braced herself for the most awkward question of all and she was not disappointed. "But why?" he asked. "You were an excellent gymnast. Why did you never consider coaching?"

For the first time in years, Maddy pondered giving him the truth, but quickly discounted it. She decided to go with a half-truth. "I've cut gymnastics out of my life, Mr. Belov. I haven't competed in years nor have I even watched a competition in that time."

"Yet you spend your free time in a gym?" Sasha asked with his eyebrows raised, gesturing around at the equipment, aggravation creeping into his voice.

His response irritated Maddy and she quickly became angry again. "The gymnastics community nearly ruined my life. So yes, I cut it out, but I did not cut out _gymnastics_. My problem was with the people, the politics, and the media. It had nothing to do with the sport." She paused, affection entering her voice as she continued, "When I was a kid, I loved this," she gestured around her. "I loved coming to the gym, I loved learning new skills. As I got older, all of that changed. It became a job, a career…a _burden_. It became only about the medals and the scores." Maddy stopped and glared back at Sasha. "I came to _hate _it. _That's_ why I got out. _That's_ why I won't coach. I won't see it become unbearable for another young gymnast. I will not make that mistake again."

Sasha widened his stance and folded his arms across his chest, looking like the cat that had eaten the canary. "Not even for Payson Keeler?" he asked, bemusedly.

Maddy stared at him blankly. "Who?" she asked with an eye roll.

Sasha was shocked, "What do you—what do you mean _who_? Payson Keeler," he repeated as if that would solve the problem. "She was the best gymnast in the country last year."

Exhaling heavily, Maddy explained, "I told you, Mr. Belov. I don't follow gymnastics anymore."

"Well, yeah, you said that—" he conceded.

"But you didn't believe me?" Maddy interrupted. "Believe it this time. I don't know who this Payson Keeler is. I don't care who this Payson Keeler is. My answer remains the same: I will not coach."

"She's different," Sasha said. "She was the quintessential power gymnast until she suffered a career-ending spinal fracture."

"Then what could I possibly do?" Maddy asked, frustrated. He wouldn't take a hint!

"She underwent an experimental surgery and now she's back," Sasha began. "But, in her time off, she went through a growth spurt—"

"—And now she can no longer be a power gymnast," Maddy finished, nodding her head. "That's why you came to me," she stated.

Sasha nodded. "I need someone to teach her to be an artistic gymnast and you were the first person who came to mind. I'm not sure that I can coach her the way that she must be coached. I just don't know enough about that variant. She could use someone who's been there, someone who's performed it."

Maddy suddenly caught herself. He thought that he was actually convincing her! And yes, maybe for a moment, she had started to consider it again, but memories flashed through her mind that hardened her resolve and ignited her stubbornness.

"It's a moving story, Mr. Belov," she started, "But find someone else."

She walked past him without looking up and held open the door in order to end the conversation. She saw that he had no intention of leaving so she said, "The gym is closed, Mr. Belov. I have to ask you to leave."

Sasha's shoulders slumped and Maddy knew that he had been defeated. He nodded despairingly and began walking out the door, but he stopped just before he passed her. "There's nothing I can say to change your mind?" he asked as a last measure.

Maddy looked at the floor and answered, "Afraid not."

Sasha sighed. "I knew this was a long shot anyway," he admitted.

Maddy didn't respond, but let the door close behind them as she walked him to the lobby. Once there, she opened the top desk drawer and pulled out a set of keys before holding open the gym's front door for him. He stood next to the desk and pulled an envelope from his back pocket. He placed it upon the desk and said, "In case you change your mind."

He walked toward her and stepped out of the gym, turning back to look at her. For the first time, Maddy actually allowed herself to study Sasha Belov. He had been one of her favorite competitors back when she was a teenager, but she had never actually met him. He was older now, probably about early-thirties, and his chin was covered in a light, fair stubble that was both unkempt and dangerously attractive. His fair hair was in disarray, as if he had run his fingers through it many times earlier in the day, and his body was still in incredible shape for a retired gymnast. She met his eyes briefly and was mesmerized by their color. They were a pale, ice blue that would normally have looked cold and unfriendly, but in Sasha Belov's face they could be lively and warm. At the moment, however, only disappointment and surrender echoed in their depths.

Maddy felt a twinge of remorse for not being able to help him, to ease some of his burden, but she could not break the promise that she had made to herself all those years ago. She had severed ties with the gymnastics world and, for her own sanity, it must remain that way.

Therefore, she forced herself to reply nonchalantly, "Not likely," before she closed the door in Sasha Belov's beautiful face.

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**Hmm. So many questions, but there will be a few answers in the next chapter. So I am clearly not following the plot line closely as Sasha is looking for some help to coach Payson to be an artistic gymnast. **

**Don't hate Maddy too much, she has a lot of issues. To be explained later...**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Dance With Me

**Hey, here we go again!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters except for Maddy.**

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**Chapter 2: Dance With Me**

A week later, Maddy found herself sitting in a rental car outside of The Rocky Mountain Gymnastics Center in an odd turn of events. She couldn't help but smile at the irony of the situation. Just last week, Sasha Belov had probably sat in a rental car outside of her gym, dreading going inside, and now here she sat, in the exact same position.

She wore a pair of brown Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses and her red hair hung in loose waves down to the bottom of her breasts. She was wearing a long, black, sleeveless dress with a slit up the leg to about mid-thigh over a pair of black spandex pants. On her feet, she sported a pair of black ballet flats. As she unfurled her long frame from the car, she pulled a button-up, long-sleeved, turquoise cardigan over her ensemble, pushing her sunglasses off her face to rest on the top of her head.

Leaning on the still open car door, Maddy inspected the gym affectionately known as "The Rock". It was impressive, there was no denying that, but Maddy had seen impressive gyms before. She was hoping that there was something different about this gym, that she wasn't wrong to come here, but so far things were not looking good. Each car that occupied a space in front of the gym was top of the line, expensive brands such as Mercedes and Audi, but Maddy reminded herself not to judge a book by its cover.

She slammed her car door shut and strode toward the front door of the gym. As she reached out a hand to pull open the door, Maddy remembered the reasons why she had changed her mind. She had not lied to Sasha Belov. When he had tried to persuade her, she had been adamant that she was not going to coach and that nothing he said could change her mind. It was the expression on his face and the defeat in his eyes, however, that _had_. He had flown two-thousand miles to try and convince a woman that he knew was probably going to say no anyway to come and coach one of his gymnasts. He had even bought her a plane ticket to get there, which had been in the envelope that he had lain upon the desk back home. His tortured expression had haunted her for days until she convinced herself that it couldn't hurt to come and look at this Payson Keeler. If her desire to return to gymnastics required an experimental surgery, then maybe Miss Keeler wouldn't be destroyed by the sports world. Anyone that resulted in _the_ Sasha Belov begging a has-been to come and coach with a dismayed spirit had to be the next great thing. She was here for Payson alone.

Yeah, right. Her reasons for coming here mostly had everything to do with Sasha Belov. Maddy had to admit, he piqued her curiosity. He seemed so invested in his gymnast's success that Maddy had to see it firsthand. Of course, it didn't hurt that Maddy wanted to see _him_ again. He had been one of her role models, after all.

She pulled open the front door and with a great heave walked tentatively into the darkened lobby of the elite gymnastics club. There was no one in the immediate vicinity so she continued on to a set of doors that she assumed led onto the floor of the training area. As she began to pull open the doors, she wondered briefly if she should have called Coach Belov before making her trip. She hadn't even opened the doors yet and already she felt like an intruder. She reminded herself that Sasha hadn't alerted her to his presence—she still had the bruises to prove it—and she didn't want him to think that her accepting his ticket meant more than she wanted it to. She was here to observe only. She would make her decision after meeting Miss Keeler and only then.

Her mind made up, Maddy pulled open the doors and stepped into the brightly lit room. Before her, she saw several gymnasts working on the various apparatuses, oblivious to her presence. Glancing around quickly, she saw several rather talented females training on the beam and bars, but none of them seemed to be recovering from a back injury. She looked upon the floor mat and saw a blonde girl, about the age of seventeen, with her hair pulled up into a messy bun working through some choreography and struggling to make it look graceful and fluid. Maddy cringed. She had a bad feeling about this.

A young girl walked past her, but Maddy said politely, "Excuse me, I'm—", but the girl just continued on, ignoring her questions.

Seeing another gymnast moving in her direction, Maddy tried to intercept her and said, "I'm looking for—", but this girl also walked right on by without giving Maddy the time of day.

Frustrated, Maddy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to cool her rising temper. She really needed to work on her hot-headedness.

Plastering on a smile, she tried one more time to get someone's attention, but was blown off yet again like the previous two times. Perhaps letting her temper get the better of her, Maddy strode further into the gym where she was in clear view and let out a loud, shrill, piercing whistle.

Every gymnast stopped what they were doing and tried to find the source of the sound, their eyes coming to rest on the unfamiliar woman in their midst who had her hands on her hips in a clearly frustrated fashion. They waited for her to say something and finally they were rewarded.

"Hi," Maddy said shortly, glaring around at the people in the gym with a forced and clearly insincere smile on her face. "I am looking for Payson Keeler."

The gym was silent for a beat until the girl who had been awkwardly practicing her choreography on the floor mat spoke up. "I'm Payson Keeler," she volunteered hesitantly.

Mostly to herself—and not meaning it to be rude—Maddy said softly, "I was afraid of that." She glanced around at the gymnasts who were standing around the gym, awe-struck, and gestured with a hand, saying firmly, "As you were."

She wasn't being mean when she said what she had about the young gymnast. All she meant was that she had expected Payson Keeler to be more graceful than she was appearing to be at the moment. She should have known, she supposed. Sasha had said that Payson was the quintessential power gymnast and most power gymnasts rarely dealt with the more fluid, dance choreography, instead focusing on the strength and degree of difficulty in their routines. If Maddy chose to work with Payson, she was going to have her work cut out for her.

Maddy started walking toward Payson, when a voice called out from behind her authoritatively, "What's going on? Why aren't you training?"

Maddy recognized the voice of Sasha Belov and in between the noises of the gymnasts shuffling to return to their routines, she heard his footsteps coming down the stairs from his office onto the floor.

Slowly, she turned around to face him, a hand on her hip and her eyebrow slightly raised. When she met his eyes, she was amused to see the look of utter surprise register in his expression. He had honestly not expected her to come, but then pure joy took over his features as a great smile creased his face. He lunged toward her, extending his right hand, and said, "Miss Reynolds. I'm so glad that you could make it."

Maddy laid her own hand atop his, watching as his fingers encircled her palm, feeling the warmth of his hand spread up her arm. She had quite forgotten how handsome he was. She shook her head mentally, extracting her hand from his grasp, and gestured around the gym, replying, "Sorry about that. I just needed someone to point me in the direction of Miss Keeler and no one was being particularly helpful."

"That's perfectly all right," Sasha replied, still smiling. "Did you introduce yourself?"

"Um, no," Maddy replied, frowning. "I didn't really want to—"

She broke off as Sasha spoke above her, trying to get the attention of all the people in the gym. "Hey, guys," he bellowed. "Can I have your attention for just a moment?"

As he spoke, the gymnasts halted what they were doing and came to circle around Sasha and Maddy, looking at them both curiously, none more so than Payson, who stood directly in front of Maddy. She quickly averted her gaze lest they recognize her and decide to pounce.

"Everyone," Sasha continued, "I'd like to introduce you to someone. I'm sure that many of you recognize her, but—"

Maddy pushed the hair back out of her face as she resigned herself to her fate. She had hoped that she would be able to evaluate Payson without many people knowing who she was. The problem was this: in the world of gymnastics, she was about as welcome as an ant on a picnic.

She wanted to stop Sasha, but it was too late as she heard him announce, "—this is Madelyn Reynolds, three-time Olympic gold medalist."

Sasha stood back to beam at her, but Maddy forced herself to stand tall as utter silence broke over the gym. She counted five seconds until she heard an annoying, disgust-filled voice say, "What is she doing here?"

Maddy turned to see a blonde teenage girl with her hair pulled back into a French braid cross her arms and strike a defensive pose. The girl's expression was one of pure loathing and Maddy couldn't help it, her temper flared once again and she glared right back at the moody teenager. She had taken and accepted several verbal beatings over the years, but she would be _damned_ if she took one from a snooty, blonde, entitled child whom she might one day coach.

Before she could say anything however, Sasha reprimanded her with a stern, "Lauren!"

Ignoring Sasha's command, the girl named Lauren continued, "No, Sasha. What is she doing here?" Lauren looked right at Maddy with a smug smile and finished, "If I were you, I would be way too ashamed to show my face in a gym _ever_ again."

In that moment, Maddy wanted to laugh at the girl so badly. Was she seriously for real? Attempting to keep it semi-professional, Maddy tried to be the grown-up and said, "Well, then. I guess I should just be glad that I'm not you."

"Lauren," Sasha said, his temper making his voice sound dangerously low, "I will tolerate your behavior."

"I will not tolerate _her_!" Lauren yelled. "I think that we have a right to know—"

Maddy interrupted her, seeing where her tantrum was headed. "What?" she asked, stepping menacingly closer to Lauren as her temper rose once more. "Go on," she urged, wanting to get this out of the way and discourage anyone else from asking her. "Ask me."

Lauren looked around at her teammates, seeking support, but seeing that she had none, she stood taller and complied. "Fine, if no one else will, I'll do it," she said, shrugging. Looking straight into Maddy's eyes, the girl asked contemptuously, "Why did you walk out on the Olympics and not accept your medals? Why did you leave the top of the podium empty as they played the national anthem?" she finished, looking so pleased with herself that Maddy just had to wipe that damn smirk off of her face.

Smiling intimidatingly, Maddy said firmly, "That's none of your damn business."

Maddy chuckled softly as Lauren's expression registered shock and disbelief, but Maddy promptly turned her back on the girl, ending their little exchange as she turned to Sasha and said, "I think that's quite enough. Please, tell them to get back to work."

Without waiting for Sasha's orders, the gymnasts broke up and quietly headed back to their respective stations. Seeing Payson also head back to the floor, she called after her, "Not you, Payson. You and I must talk."

Surprised, Payson returned to stand next to Sasha and Maddy was pleased to see that Payson actually looked happy and thrilled to see her. When she had come within a few feet of her, Payson extended her hand with a wide smile and said, "It's so nice to meet you, Miss Reynolds. I've seen every one of your routines and studied several of the moves. It's an honor to actually meet you."

Shaking Payson's hand, Maddy nodded at her. "Thank you," she said honestly. "But I'm not here to meet the other gymnasts. I'm here to meet you, Payson." Glancing at Sasha, Maddy continued, "I've heard so much about you."

"You have?" Payson asked incredulously.

With a smile, Maddy amended her answer, "Well, I've heard some, anyway. Mostly, I came here today to hear your side of the story."

"What have you heard?" Payson asked curiously.

"Oh, let's see," Maddy began. "You were the country's leading power gymnast until you suffered a back fracture that ended your career. You underwent an experimental surgery that returned your full range of motion, but you had experienced a growth spurt. This means that you now have to become an artistic gymnast or you can kiss the Olympics good-bye. Do you have anything else to add?"

Payson contemplated the question before answering, "I don't think so."

"Okay," Maddy replied. "Let's see what you've got."

She led the way over to the floor mat and gestured for Payson to take her spot and when she had, she turned to look expectantly back at Maddy. Realizing that she was awaiting instruction, Maddy said, "Just run through whatever choreography you have down so far."

Payson nodded and lowered herself onto the mat, waiting for the music to start. Hearing it, she began to move through some beautiful choreography. Sasha appeared next to Maddy's elbow and struck his normal pose, stance wide with his arms folded across his chest as he watched. After a few seconds, he asked, "What do you think?"

Maddy didn't answer him, but continued to watch Payson and after a few moments, Sasha shuffled his feet and then stood silent and still. The music drew near to an end and Payson lowered her body back down onto the mat in the same pose that she began it, ending her routine. She sprang up quickly and looked excitedly at Sasha and Maddy.

Maddy crossed her arms and walked the few feet to stand close to Payson, in earshot of Sasha. Maddy could feel several pairs of eyes upon them—in fact, she hazarded that most of the gym had come to a standstill—but Maddy didn't acknowledge anyone but Payson.

Looking up at her thoughtfully, Maddy said, "I have only one simple question for you, Payson."

Payson nodded, ready to answer it.

Taking a deep breath, Maddy asked, "What drives you?"

Confused, Payson responded, "What?"

Clarifying, Maddy said, "What drives your gymnastics? What makes you do what you do?"

She thought for a moment and then Payson said matter-of-factly, "My determination and my will. I'm a champion."

Maddy's posture lowered as she sighed heavily, averting her glance from Payson's. Sadly, she raised her eyes and said quietly, "Then I'm afraid there's nothing that I can do for you."

Without another word, Maddy spun on her heel and walked away from Payson, past Sasha's beseeching looks and off the floor mat area. She had taken five steps when Payson's voice rang out in the silent gymnasium, "Wait! There must be something that you can teach me."

Maddy paused in her exit and after a few seconds, she spun back around to Payson and Sasha. From her periphery, Maddy could see that she had been right in assuming that the whole gym had stopped practicing and were instead watching the exchange intently. Pensively, Maddy inspected Payson's face and her body language, but then she came to a sudden decision, swinging into motion.

She marched back to Sasha and swiftly pulled the cardigan off her shoulders, handing it to him wordlessly. Stepping out of her flats, she walked herself onto the mat and quickly performed a few stretches, taking only a minute before she straightened herself and closed the distance to Payson.

Standing before her, Maddy performed a perfect pirouette and then ended with her left foot stretched far behind her with a hand extended to Payson. Ignoring everything else, Maddy said, "Dance with me, Payson."

Payson looked confused and said, "I don't under—"

She broke off as Maddy spoke over her more insistently this time, "Dance with me, Payson." She paused and rose from her position, but still kept her hand out toward the young girl. "Or I turn around and walk out that door for good this time."

Still frowning, Payson nevertheless placed her hand immediately in Maddy's palm and she pulled the girl to the center of the mat. Spinning her, Maddy pulled Payson close to her body, her right hand resting on Payson's left hip as they stood back to front. Maddy could feel Payson tense up so she said, "Relax, Payson." Laying a hand on her shoulders, Maddy continued, "You must relax your arms if you want to reach your full extensions."

Payson nodded and tried to relax as Maddy gave her more instruction. "Now, remember to take deep breaths and keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them, all right?"

"Yes," Payson murmured, following Maddy's directions.

"Now we dance," Maddy relayed, already moving with Payson's body across the mat in no specific pattern, trying to direct Payson's body and encourage the full extensions that Payson needed to master. Maddy tried to maneuver Payson's body, but the gymnast met her with resistance. "Don't fight me, Payson," Maddy said softly. "Move with me. Follow me."

"I'm trying," Payson said frustratedly as she stumbled yet again.

Sighing, Maddy released her and said, "Stop, Payson. Look at me," she ordered and the girl complied. "What do you find so difficult about this?"

"I can't follow you. You're asking my body to do things that it can't."

"I'm asking you to do something that you _won't_. There's a difference, Payson. So what is it really?"

Payson shrugged and said weakly, "There's no music."

Sighing, Maddy grasped Payson's upper arms. "An artistic gymnast needs no music," she imparted. "She has her own music playing inside of her. It is her duty to express that music to an audience, make it so they can hear it. She does it by turning that sound into movement. Her job is so much different from a power gymnast's. She does not seek to impress the crowd, but to _educate_ them. An artistic gymnast makes the audience feel a certain emotion. They experience it together. She strives to impart beauty and grace, using simply the flick of her fingertips." Maddy raised a long, pale arm above her head and showed Payson how to do just that. Looking back at her, desperate to make her understand, Maddy continued, "A power gymnast relies on determination and will to make it through her routines, but an artistic gymnast must use something different. Do you know what that is, Payson?"

Payson shook her head, entranced by Maddy's soft words.

Maddy's heart sank. She really thought that she had been getting through to Payson, but now she saw just how wrong she was. Sadly, Maddy answered her own question, "_Heart_, Payson. An artistic gymnast's power comes from her heart. She taps into her emotions and puts them on display for the whole world to see and learn from, she excels at wordless communication."

"How?" Payson asked.

Maddy looked away from Payson and focused on a girl with a brown ponytail wearing a black and pink leotard. She gestured at the girl and said, "What's your name?"

"Kaylie," the girl responded.

"Excellent," Maddy said, beckoning the teenager. "Will you help me, Kaylie?"

The girl nodded and stepped onto the mat and Maddy said to her, "All right, Kaylie. I want you to think of an emotion and then without telling us what it is, I want you to show us. Show us that emotion with a few movements, Kaylie."

The girl nodded and stood still for a moment before saying, "I'm ready."

Maddy and Payson stood away from the girl as she began to move her body in slow, poignant movements, with a look of utter despair on her face, ending with her posture slumped and her arms wrapped around herself.

Maddy immediately turned to Payson and asked, "What did you see, Payson?"

Without a pause, Payson answered, "Sadness."

"Exactly," Maddy responded before turning to the brown-haired girl. "Thank you, Kaylie. You may stay with us if you like."

The girl went to stand next to Payson as Maddy stepped back towards the center of the mat. "You just saw a power gymnast try to convey emotion, Payson. Now watch as an artistic one does the same thing."

Maddy began to dance around the mat, performing a variety of motions, leaping through the air and landing lightly on her feet. The whole gym stopped to watch as they witnessed the three-time Olympic gold medalist who had been in seclusion for the last six years perform unofficially at the Rock. The routine was clearly not choreographed, but coming to the dancer easily as she pirouetted and flitted across the mat. Soon, she stopped and raised her head slowly, as if coming out of a trance. Still holding her position, she called out, "Coach Belov, in one word, how was I feeling?"

Staring wistfully at the slender, willowy redhead on his apparatus, Sasha said softly, "Heartbroken."

Pulling herself to her full height, Maddy returned to Payson's side. "And what did you see Payson?"

"You looked so sad," Payson answered.

"But did you see me perform a move that looked particularly melancholy?"

"No," she said, surprised at the realization.

"An artistic gymnast must tell a story with her body, but it can't be obvious. It must look natural. Beautiful. Easy."

Payson nodded.

"Ask me why I was heartbroken, Payson," Maddy prompted.

Obligingly, Payson asked, "Why were you heartbroken?"

"Because of you, Payson." Exhaling heavily, Maddy took Payson's hands in her own. "Because you don't have heart. And you need it if you want to succeed."

Maddy could see it as Payson became nervous. She quickly said, "But I can get it. You just have to teach me how to get it."

Maddy shook her head sadly. "It's not something that I can teach. You have to find it for yourself."

"But how?" Payson insisted. "How do I find it?"

"It comes from knowing yourself," Maddy explained. "It comes from accepting that you can no longer be a power gymnast. From realizing that that part of your career is over. It comes from closing the door on that life and embracing the path ahead with your whole heart. If you live in the past, you will always be tense and that will be the only impression you impart to the audience. You must give up the old Payson Keeler and decide to find a new one."

"It's not that simple," Payson said quietly.

"I know that," Maddy replied. "And that's why I'm sad. Because I can't help you until you do." The teenager looked sharply into her eyes, pleadingly, but Maddy dropped Payson's hands and turned away from her to face the rest of the gym.

She walked back over to Sasha and stepped into her flats, wordlessly accepting her cardigan from him. She pulled it on smoothly as she walked out of the Rock in silence, not once looking back.

* * *

**So what did you think?**

**I just want to reiterate again that I am not a gymnast or a dancer so I pretty much have no clue what I'm talking about. Please don't hold it against me-I know that what I've said is probably wrong-but I think that it's important to the story that you understand how Maddy feels about gymnastics. Also, if you couldn't tell, I am not Lauren's biggest fan so Maddy was actually quite rude to her, but hopefully you all can forgive her little outburst. The reasons behind it will be explained a little bit more in the subsequent chapters. **

**Thanks for reading! Stay tuned...**


	3. Fruition

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters except for Maddy.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Fruition**

Maddy was halfway back to her car when she heard the front doors of the Rock burst open as someone barreled through them. She kept walking though, until she heard a voice bellow behind her, "Miss Reynolds!"

Pivoting on her toes, Maddy turned back around to face Sasha Belov, his cheeks flooded with color and his eyes flashing fire.

"Coach Belov," Maddy acknowledged, completely composed in the face of his anger.

"That's it?" Sasha asked incredulously. "You're just leaving now?"

Shrugging, Maddy nodded. "Yes."

"Payson Keeler is one hell of a gymnast," he growled, jabbing at her with a stiff finger, "and she is going to make one hell of a performer."

"I don't doubt it," Maddy confirmed.

"Good, because when she does, you'll—" Sasha suddenly broke off, confusion flooding his face. "Hold on, you agree?"

Thinking about it for a moment, Maddy nodded once and answered, "Yes." She then pivoted once more and continued walking to her car.

After a few moments, Sasha jogged to catch up to her. "But," he stuttered, still bewildered, "you're still going to leave?"

"Yup," Maddy affirmed over her shoulder, smoothly pushing her Ray-Bans onto her oval face.

She grasped the door handle of her car and made to open it, but Sasha's hand appeared, holding the door shut. Sighing, Maddy looked pointedly up into his face, just mere inches away.

"If you have faith in her," Sasha said quietly, his breath puffing against her cheeks, "why are you walking away?"

"Because she's not ready," Maddy said matter-of-factly, pausing for a moment before amending her previous statement, "Yet. She will be, though."

Sasha leaned back and crossed his arms, shaking his head. "I don't understand."

"Of course, you don't," Maddy answered. "And you don't need to."

Maddy once again turned to her car and attempted to open the door, but Sasha blocked her once more. "Actually, I do," he said firmly. "You just basically told my gymnast that her career was over. I think that I should at least understand why."

Exhaling heavily and rolling her eyes behind her shades, Maddy shook her head. "I did not," she argued. "I lit a fire under her ass. There's a big difference."

Sasha made a gesture with his hand that Maddy interpreted to mean, "What the heck are you talking about?", so she explained herself.

"You know Payson," she stated.

Though it wasn't a question, Sasha nodded his head.

"Okay," she ceded, "and I just told Payson that she couldn't do something."

Maddy paused, thinking that Sasha understood what she was getting at, but he just shook his head and said, "And?"

Blowing air through her lips, Maddy replied, "Lookit. Payson broke her back. The doctors said that she would never compete again and what does she do?"

"She gets surgery," Sasha answered.

"Right and then she competes. And then you tell her that she can't try out for the National Team. What does she do?"

Sasha's eyebrows raised as if he was finally beginning to understand. "She tries out anyway."

"Exactly," Maddy responded. She pointed her finger at her own chest, "And now I just told Payson that she can't be an artistic gymnast because she won't let go of who she used to be. What do you think she's going to do?"

Sasha gave a small smile and chuckled softly. "She's going to let go," Sasha murmured.

"Bingo," Maddy said. "That girl's vocabulary doesn't include words like 'can't'."

"That's brilliant. How do you know, though? That it will work, I mean."

Maddy shrugged. "I don't. But, she did say that she relies on determination and will, so I'm hoping that she'll use those now in order to try and prove me wrong. Like she seems to do with everything else."

"And if she doesn't?"

Maddy grimaced. "Let's hope that we don't find out."

"And until then?" Sasha asked.

"I'm going back home," Maddy answered, successfully opening her car door this time, putting a barrier between her and Sasha.

"What?" Sasha asked, surprised.

"Well I can't stay," Maddy answered as if it was obvious.

"Why not?" Sasha countered. "I would be hiring you on as assistant coach. You could begin working with some of the other girls tomorrow while you wait for Payson."

"Uh-uh," Maddy disputed. "If I'm here, where Payson can see me, she'll believe that I'll change my mind. She won't stay motivated and it will take twice as long. If I go home, however, she'll think that I really did give up her and she'll work that much harder."

"And when she is ready?"

"Well, then she'll want to prove it. She'll come and find me."

Sasha nodded. Then he smiled beamingly, "So that's a yes then?"

Confused, Maddy furrowed her brow. "What's a yes?"

Sasha laughed and began backing away. "You just agreed to be my assistant coach," he stated amusedly. "Who would have thought? Madelyn Reynolds. Coaching." He lifted an eyebrow, "It must be snowing in hell."

Maddy threw her head back and laughed. "An absolute blizzard," she agreed and climbed into her car, beginning the long trip back home.

* * *

Sasha Belov adjusted the visor of the rental car as the afternoon sun glared off from the vehicle ahead of him. Coincidentally, he was driving the same exact rental that he had the last time he had made this trip, except this time, he wasn't making the trip alone. Kim Keeler sat in the front passenger seat, peering out the window at the beautiful Maine scenery as Sasha drove Payson, who was currently in the back seat listening to her iPod, to the gym where he had found Madelyn Reynolds before.

Madelyn. Coach Reynolds. Miss Reynolds. Maddy. Sasha rolled her names around in his head, having no idea which one he should call her. He knew that she went by the nickname Maddy, but she had never actually asked him to call her that. In fact, she had never even corrected him when he had called her Miss Reynolds, even though the formality of it was odd to Sasha. And he couldn't very well call her Coach Reynolds because then Payson would know that she had already accepted his offer.

Sasha couldn't help but smile at that thought. He had done the impossible. He had convinced the hermit of gymnastics, Madelyn Reynolds, to end her self-imposed exile and come and coach with him at the Rock. He still didn't know how he had done it. Two and a half weeks ago, she had been adamant in her refusal, completely shocking him when she magically appeared in the middle of his gym a week later, and she had offered him no explanation.

Sasha got the impression that she was a woman of few words, but he wondered if that had anything to do with the events that had transpired six years ago. Madelyn Reynolds had been the golden hope of the American gymnastics team headed for the Olympics. True to form, she had led her team to a silver medal and had won the gold in the All-Around competition. Her career had been full of commendations and compliments, by far the best gymnast in the world at that time. She had been a true performer, the most beautiful thing that Sasha had ever seen grace the floor mat or beam, and she had truly excelled at moving the audience. Her impromptu performance at the Rock had sent Sasha back six years, to the moment when he had watched her receive a perfect execution score at the Olympic Games, back when she had been America's Sweetheart.

All that had quickly changed, however. Somewhere between her final floor routine and the presentation of the medals, Madelyn had disappeared, leaving the top spot on the podium empty and denying the USA its rightful celebrations. She had not been seen since that day, the last image anyone had of her was the glowing expression on her face as she thrilled in her perfect score. For many weeks afterward, and the subsequent Games, news stations had replayed that footage over and over with the recurring headline, "What Happened to Maddy Reynolds?"

It was a question that had never been answered. Maddy had truly dropped off the face of the Earth. She never gave an interview, never competed again, and never coached. For all intents and purposes, it was as if Maddy Reynolds had never existed. Without any attempt from her to defend her name, the gymnastics and sports communities had besmirched her, turned against her, and effectively transformed her into Public Enemy #1. To this day, her name was still spoken with contempt, her absence still seen as a betrayal, which explained Lauren's outburst back at the Rock.

Madelyn had been eighteen at the time, in one day going from America's favorite female athlete to the world's most hated has-been. For the most part, her name had dropped from the history books, but when Sasha realized that he needed help with Payson, he knew that he had to find her, that she was the only person who could recreate Payson. Three private detectives and a hefty sum later, he finally had the information that he needed. Madelyn Reynolds had been going by her middle name, Blake, working at a boarding kennel in a podunk town in central Maine.

Hearing that, Sasha had at first thought that the detectives had found the wrong person. Madelyn Reynolds, dog walker? It just hadn't seemed to fit until Sasha realized that if he had wanted to disappear, he would have done the exact same thing. Start over somewhere new in a town that no one had ever heard of with a job that didn't attract any attention. He had booked his tickets that night, flying out to meet her the very next morning.

It had been six years since Sasha had seen her face and Madelyn's appearance had changed drastically during the hiatus. When she had been competing, her body had been 5'5", too tall to be a power gymnast, but willowy enough to be an artistic gymnast, a profession that she had perfected. Her brilliant red hair had been cut to shoulder length, but was usually pulled back into a sleek chignon, and her frame had been slender and thin. Though she was almost a woman at the time of the Olympics, like most gymnasts, she had seemed and looked much younger than her age suggested. In her retirement, her body had bloomed, filling out in all the right places to give her a curvy shape. She had grown at least four inches and her hair was now long enough to reach the middle of her back.

She was no longer a little girl. No, she was pure woman and Sasha Belov couldn't help but be attracted to her. He had foolishly expected her to look the same as she had six years ago, but he had been pleasantly mistaken. He had always admired her gymnastics, but he had never actually met the woman until three weeks ago and so he had never experienced looking into her eyes firsthand. On television monitors, her eyes had seemed blue, but in the few encounters that he had had with her, Sasha had been shocked to find that they were actually gray, a color that he had never seen before.

"How much further?" Payson asked from the backseat, startling Sasha from his thoughts.

They had been driving for almost two hours, so that left about, "Twenty minutes or so," Sasha replied.

Payson nodded once, replacing her ear bud and refocusing on whatever she had been for the last two hours. Sasha's eyes returned to the road as he remembered the last week and a half since Madelyn had left the Rock. Upon returning, Sasha had found the gym at a standstill. Pretending to be upset, Sasha had barked at them all to get back to work and had stalked straight into his office. Humoring his dramatic side, he had paced back and forth visibly in front of the window, until he saw Payson drawing near, when he impulsively swiped everything off from his desk in an apparent loss of temper.

The shocked look on Payson's face had almost made Sasha apologize, but he reminded himself that she needed to be absolutely positive that Madelyn was not returning and so he had continued his charade. Needless to say, he had convinced the gym and the parents that Madelyn Reynolds had slid back into the ether and would never been seen in the Rock again. He had continued to work with Payson, until two days ago when something had clicked within her and she had demanded that Sasha take her to see Maddy immediately.

As Sasha pulled into the gym's parking lot, he was once again struck by the building's dilapidated appearance. There was only one car in the gym's parking lot—that same silver SUV—and the surrounding street was empty of any traffic. He put the car in park and heard Kim ask, "This is it?"

Unbuckling his seatbelt, Sasha said, "Yup."

"It's so," Kim paused as she tried to finish her sentence politely. "It's not what I was expecting."

"Neither is she," Sasha added, referring to Madelyn, whom Kim had not met before.

They all climbed out of the car and Payson wrapped up her headphones, placing her iPod into her pocket. Determination on her face, Payson led the way to the gym's doors, opening them and walking inside first without any hesitation.

The lobby looked just as it had the first time and as Kim and Sasha looked around, Payson asked, "Where is everyone?"

Sasha began to lead the way down the hallway that led to the gym floor, motioning to the girls' locker room so that Payson could shed her tracksuit and stretch out her muscles. Minutes later, they were heading back down the hallway, Payson's face stern with her will to prove herself.

Smiling, Sasha quietly pushed open the red door and led the way into the gym, eyes adjusting to the darkness. None of the lights were on, but the sun shone in through the windows, bringing the dust and chalk particles floating through the air into sharp relief. At first glance, the gym seemed empty and Sasha watched as Kim and Payson tried to locate Madelyn, but it wasn't until the door slammed behind them that they did.

As the sound of the door reverberated around the space, they were met with a loud gasp as a figure lying prostrate on top of the high bar fell flailing to the mat below with a loud smack. Kim and Payson gasped as they hurried over to the figure lying face down on the floor, but before they could say more than "Are you—", they were cut off as the figure raised a hand and a muffled voice called, "Peachy."

Sasha chuckled softly as he slowly strode over to the uneven bars, remembering when he had seen the same sight for the first time, realizing that it was much more comical the second time around. He watched as Madelyn pushed herself to her feet and began brushing at her front, hoping to remove the chalk from the lime green spandex shorts she wore under a loose, black sweater with a scoop neck that drooped down to reveal the alabaster skin of her shoulder.

Looking up at her audience, Sasha saw that a blush tinted Maddy's cheeks and to escape further embarrassment, she performed a florid bow with a smile on her face. Clapping, Sasha joined the three women, catching Madelyn's eye and saying, "Hello again."

Maddy smiled back at him and playfully said, "You know, you really have to stop doing that. One of these days I won't actually be peachy."

Turning away from Sasha's warm gaze, she extended her hand to Kim and introduced herself, "Maddy Reynolds."

"Kim Keeler, Payson's mother."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Maddy replied.

She turned to look at Payson, flashing a smile and holding her hand out to her as well, but Payson just stared at it blankly. Wordlessly, she turned and walked the ten feet to the middle of the gym where the floor mat was located. Staring pointedly at Maddy, Payson performed a pirouette and held her hand out, mimicking Maddy's actions from a week ago.

"Dance with me," Payson asked.

A proud smile turned up the corners of Maddy's mouth and she glided over to the mat, countering Payson's pirouette with a fluid fouette, taking Payson's outstretched hand in her own. Payson lifted their hands and rotated so that they were standing back to front with Maddy's arm wrapped around her.

"Close your eyes, Payson," Maddy commanded as they stood still upon the mat.

Sasha pulled a small camcorder from his coat pocket and turned it on, somehow feeling that this was going to be a moment worthy of documentation.

He was not disappointed. At first, Payson moved awkwardly trying to follow Maddy's silent directions, resisting Maddy's control of her arms, but soon she relaxed and melded into Maddy's body, giving her limbs over to the master performer. The two spun across the floor as one and minutes later, they came to a stop in the center of the mat, both in the arabesque position.

Maddy dropped her arms from Payson's body, pausing to raise the height of her back leg, but then she said, "Don't open your eyes, Payson."

She fouetted around the gymnast, coming to a stop before her. Payson's face looked down to mat, but Maddy used a finger to tilt her chin up, elongating Payson's neck. Placing one hand on her hip as she stood in second position, Maddy asked, "What do you feel, Payson?"

Payson was silent for a long moment, simply breathing deeply. Then, tilting her head, she answered, "Everything."

Maddy raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?" she prompted.

"I feel everything, all the way up to my fingertips and down to my toes. I can feel you standing beside, guiding me." Payson paused, "I feel so alert and aware."

"And how does that make you feel?" Maddy asked.

With a smile, Payson replied, "Free. Like I can do anything."

Maddy craned her neck around to look at Sasha. Meeting his eyes, she nodded once and a triumphant smile slowly creased her face. Turning back to Payson she said, "You can open your eyes now, Payson."

Payson stood back into her full height, unbridled hope and expectation on her face.

Without looking at her, Kim, or Sasha, Maddy flicked her hand and ordered, "Go home, Payson." She then pivoted on her heels and walked away from the girl, whose face crumpled in disappointment.

Before anyone could say anything, Maddy performed a front tuck mount onto the balance beam, landing in a perfectly steady arabesque, her head looking straightforward. Without a word, Maddy pulled a free aerial cartwheel so that she was facing Payson once again. Studying the gymnast intently, Maddy suddenly performed a flic-flac with a full twist and swung down into a Rulfova. Raising her arms above her for balance, Maddy swept her long leg over the beam and launched herself to the floor, striding back over to Payson.

"Go home," Maddy repeated, but then her smile returned in full force to her face as she continued, "I shall join you shortly, of course."

Payson squealed and launched herself at Maddy as her meaning registered, pulling her into a hug. "You won't regret this, I promise," she said as she leaned back. "I'll be the best gymnast you've ever coached."

"You'll be the _only_ gymnast I've ever coached," Maddy confessed, laughing.

Payson smiled and ran over to her mother as Maddy followed slowly behind. She met Sasha's eyes and saw a smug smirk on his face. Wanting to wipe it off, Maddy squinted at him and demanded, "I want a bar and mirrors placed in the gym. Payson and I will be spending much of our time there and I don't want to have to travel to a studio."

"Of course," Sasha said, still smiling.

"And each of your gymnasts will join me for at least thirty minutes a day to work on their extensions and lines. From what I saw the other day, they desperately need the work," she ordered, still trying to rattle him.

"Don't you mean _our _gymnasts?" Sasha corrected, that smug smirk still on his face, despite Maddy's best efforts.

"And absolutely no press," Maddy demanded. Turning to them all, Maddy added, "In fact, I think that it's best if no one at all knew that I was coming."

They all nodded and Maddy sighed, defeated.

"Do we have a deal, Coach Reynolds?" Sasha asked as he held out his hand.

"Deal," Maddy replied, shaking Sasha's hand. But as Payson bounced excitedly on her feet, Maddy couldn't help but wonder what the heck she had just gotten herself into.

* * *

**What do you think so far? Click the button below and let me know!**


	4. Confrontations

**Hey everyone!**

**First of all, I want to give big shout outs to my two reviewers _goalie19_ and _JCI _for taking the time to leave me a few words. JCI, in response to your timeline question, hopefully this chapter will answer it (I had actually already written the entrance of the Summer/Sasha relationship)!**

**It's a long one, so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters except for Maddy.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Confrontations**

Sasha was worried…and he didn't like it.

Normally, he considered himself a very laidback kind of guy. He usually had a couple beers with dinner, he didn't sweat the small stuff, and he didn't constantly obsess about what his gymnasts were up to when they weren't under his watchful eye.

His coaches, however—namely his _assistant_ coach—was an entirely different story. He was very much obsessed about where Miss Madelyn Reynolds was right now.

It had been two weeks—a very _long_ two weeks—since he, Payson, and Kim had returned from their excursion to Maine. Fourteen days since Madelyn had accepted the job of helping to coach Payson to the Olympics. Three hundred and thirty-six hours (and Sasha had been counting every single one of them) had passed, but Madelyn still wasn't here yet.

Sitting at the table outside of his Airstream, Sasha sighed and poured himself a bowl of Frosted Shredded Wheat, adding in enough milk to fill the bowl. He knew that he shouldn't have cereal for dinner, but it was just so delicious. And simple, which was really all that mattered to him (he was, after all, a laidback kind of guy).

Dusk was settling around him and Sasha decided that it was probably time for him to accept the truth. Each passing day, he forced himself to paste a smile on his face for Payson so that she wouldn't see his growing doubts. She was so excited about having Madelyn as a coach—a real artistic gymnast who had won gold—that she was practically floating on air, a perpetual smile gracing her face. She had not lost faith since they had returned, but instead she attacked her training with a new fervor, a new desire that probably stemmed from wanting to impress her coach again. She had pestered Sasha continually to install a bar and mirrors in the Rock as per Madelyn's request, disappointed once she learned that Sasha had to put them in the annex building out back. Still, she dutifully spent hours each day before the mirror, practicing and perfecting her grace and movements.

He didn't know what to do. Should he continue coaching Payson? He had no idea what sort of regimen that Madelyn had intended to introduce to Payson, no idea where he should go from the foundation that she had built. He was utterly at a loss and needed Madelyn to inform him of her decision.

Picking up his phone, Sasha dialed the number that the private detectives he had hired had given him. It was supposed to be her cell phone number, but as he dialed it for what had to be the twentieth time in four days, ever since he had started to have serious doubts, Sasha entertained the possibility that maybe the detectives had been wrong. For the twentieth time, the phone squawked at him, informing him that the person he was trying to reach was not available and asking him to leave a message.

Of course, that was another reason why Sasha was worried. Why wouldn't she answer her phone? Had she decided to disappear again? Sasha sincerely hoped not, especially after how much it had cost him to find her the first time.

Pouring himself another bowl of cereal, Sasha studied a pair of headlights moving steadily down the street. Adding more milk to his bowl, he dismissed them and decided that the night was too quiet and his thoughts were too loud. He stood and retrieved a radio from inside his trailer, fiddling with the tuner knob as he returned to his little green table, plugging in his outside lights on the way. Finding a station playing some soft jazz, Sasha sat down again, lifting his feet and resting them on the opposite chair as he leaned back, bathed in the clear light while a trumpet-player serenaded him.

Hearing a car door slam, Sasha turned his head and noticed a silver SUV parked in the Rock's lot, currently in the spot reserved for the Tanners. Studying it carefully, Sasha suddenly realized that this SUV had Maine plates and that he had seen it twice in the parking lot of that rinky-dink gym. His suspicions were confirmed as a redhead emerged from behind the car and strode toward him and his trailer.

As she came closer, Sasha was able to make out several details that simultaneously calmed his raging thoughts, but sent his heart racing. Madelyn was indeed walking toward him, wearing an olive green velour hoodie over a white tank top with a pair of snugly fitting jeans, sporting a pair of black Chuck's on her feet. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders, pulled back from her face by a thin white headband.

"Hey there, stranger," she called to him as she walked up to the table. "It's a nice place that you have here."

Sasha forced his mouth closed as he placed his cereal on the table. Rising to his feet, he smiled, flustered, inexplicably ashamed of his living arrangements and the box of cereal in front of him. "Thank you," he choked out in response. Smiling, he extended his hand, "I'm so pleased that you made it."

Placing her palm in his, Madelyn returned his smile, "Me too. I didn't think that I would ever get here," she confided with an exasperated expression.

They stood awkwardly for a second, as Sasha stared into her deep eyes that were reflecting the glow from the lights on his trailer, before he shook his head quickly and pulled out the chair next to his. "Please," he said, "Have a seat."

"Oh, thanks," she replied, sitting down as Sasha returned to his own chair.

They sat in silence for a moment until Madelyn breathed deeply and stretched out her hands, exclaiming, "God, it's good to be out of that car."

"I can imagine," Sasha replied. Remembering his manners and wishing that he had something better to offer her, he asked hesitantly, "Would you care to join me for dinner?"

Glancing surreptitiously at the spread on his table, Madelyn bit her lip as she tried to hide a smile. "Yeah, all right," she said, nodding her head. Looking up at him from underneath her eyelashes, she asked, "Frosted Wheat, huh?"

Sasha laughed as he stood. "It's the dinner of champions," he said as he entered his trailer. Returning with an additional bowl and spoon, he continued, "Didn't you know?"

Laughing, she replied, "I didn't. Apparently, I've been missing out all these years."

"Well," Sasha began as he poured her a generous bowl, "it's a closely protected secret. Passed on from retired champion to retired champion."

"How lucky I am," Madelyn said, laughing earnestly, "to have met such a fine champion, then."

He handed her the bowl and felt a thrill jolt up his arm as their fingertips touched. He studied her face intently, but he could find no indication that she had felt the same sensation or that she even reciprocated his attraction. Closing his eyes, Sasha forced himself to think of Summer and how much he cared for her. Sitting back in his chair, he resumed munching on his now soggy Frosted Wheat, forcing the smile from his face and ending their playful exchange.

Staring down into his bowl, he said uncertainly, "I, um, I was starting to think that you weren't going to come."

Sasha looked up to see a surprised and almost hurt look in Madelyn's eyes. Clearing her throat, she pushed her cereal around in her bowl. "Yeah," she replied flatly. "I guess I deserve that."

"No, I didn't mean—" Sasha quickly added, but she cut him off.

"No, it's fine." She returned her gaze to his as she forcefully gave a tight smile. "You had no reason to believe me."

Sighing exasperatedly, Sasha said, "I just—it had been two weeks and I was starting to…" He trailed off as he realized he didn't want to finish that sentence.

"Well, I'm here now," she said brightly. "And I don't plan on leaving anytime soon." She shrugged, "It just took me a little longer to wrap everything up back home."

"I understand," Sasha replied. "Have you—did you find a place here in Boulder, yet?"

"Not yet," she said with a small frown. "I only just got into town an hour or two ago. I checked in at the local motel then came over here. I hope to find someplace nearby tomorrow."

"I'm sure that Kim can help you with that," Sasha suggested.

"Yeah," she responded. "That's what I was hoping."

They sat in silence for a moment, the only sounds those of their spoons scraping off the sides of their bowls, until Madelyn broached the subject. "So how's this going to work?" she asked point-blank.

Shrugging, Sasha answered confusedly, "We…coach?"

"No, I mean," she shrugged. "What's going to happen tomorrow?"

"Well," Sasha began, still not sure what she meant. "I am going to do what I do any other day."

"I get that," Madelyn confirmed. "But what I mean is, what are we going to tell people? The parents—the gymnasts for that matter—won't be too thrilled about my coaching here."

Firmly, Sasha replied, "They'll accept it."

"But what if they don't?"

"They will. You were—still are—an amazing athlete. They will be honored to have you coaching here. You have so much to offer this gym." Sasha dropped his bowl onto the table and began ticking her qualities off on his fingers. "Experience, grace, talent, discipline, ballet, focus," Sasha took a breath as he readied himself to go on, but Madelyn held up a hand to stop him.

"And all those sound great when you list them like that," she conceded, "but they won't see me that way. They'll just see the eighteen-year-old girl who walked out on the Olympics."

Laying a hand on her arm, Sasha looked into her eyes and said softly, "It doesn't matter what they see. It only matters what Payson and I see. And we are both ecstatic that you've agreed to coach at the Rock. Everyone else will come round soon enough." Sasha leaned back confidently and continued, "Once you start working with the other gymnasts, they'll see how beneficial you are. And everyone will forget what happened six years ago."

Sasha could still see the skepticism on her face, but she nodded and said, "All right. So, am I like a coach coach?" she asked, confusing Sasha. Seeing the blank look on his face, she quickly clarified, "Like you're not just bringing me here for Payson alone. I'm free to coach everyone?"

"Of course," Sasha laughed. "That was the point."

She smiled, but then it faltered. "Look, I don't mean to sound juvenile or petty, but…" she trailed off.

"What?" Sasha prompted.

Sighing quickly, Madelyn licked her lips before gushing, "I won't coach that Lauren girl." She paused, but then continued firmly, "Not until she respects me. I won't respect someone until they earn it and she has quite a bit of earning to do."

"I understand," Sasha said, nodding. Then he smiled and said, "I'm not sure what will bother Steve Tanner more: you coaching here or you refusing to coach his daughter."

Madelyn smiled. "I imagine that we'll find out sooner than I'd like."

Sasha nodded, once again losing himself in her eyes. What was it about this girl? Sure, she was beautiful, but Sasha had seen and been with many beautiful women. There was something different about her, something that drew him to her, and he couldn't quite place his finger on it. All he knew was that he felt an instant connection with her, an ease that he hadn't felt in years. He'd known her for maybe a cumulative three hours, but it was so comfortable sitting here, in the dull light, listening to jazz on the radio, that Sasha felt he had known her for his whole life.

Lost in his thoughts, Sasha didn't realize how much time had passed in silence until Madelyn placed her bowl upon the table and stood up. "I should get going," she said. "I just came by to let you know that I'll be here tomorrow morning."

Sasha also rose from his chair, desperately wanting her to stay, but unable to think of a legitimate reason to ask her to. She extended her hand to him and as he took it gently she said, "Good night, Coach Belov."

"Oh, please," he replied, "call me Sasha."

She nodded uncertainly and extracted her hand, turning away from him and back to the parking lot. As Sasha watched her retreating back, a thought struck him and so he called out, "Oh, wait!"

She turned back to him, her eyebrows raised expectantly, so he continued with a smile, "I have something for you."

She walked back toward him, but Sasha quickly ducked into his trailer, reaching out and removing something from a hook by the door. Returning to her side, he held his fist out to her.

"What is it?" she asked, not able to see whatever he held since Sasha's hand was engulfing it.

"Give me your hand," Sasha replied, smiling at her, and she complied. Grabbing the wrist of her outstretched hand with his empty one, he placed the object that he held in his fist onto her palm.

She looked confusedly down at her hand and saw that she held a keychain in the shape of the state of Maine that held a series of keys on it. Laughing, she responded, "What is this?"

"A piece of home obviously," Sasha answered. "And a piece of your new home."

She frowned up at him with a bemused smile so Sasha finished, "It's the keys to the Rock."

"Oh!" she gasped. "Thank you."

Sasha tucked his hands into his pockets, feeling a blush tint his cheeks. What was _wrong_ with him? "You're very welcome," he said. "The Rock is your gym now too, Coach Reynolds."

Madelyn weighed the keys in her hand. Looking up at him, she replied, "Yes, it is. I never thought that I'd hear that. _Coach_ Reynolds, I mean. I swore that I would never coach." She trailed off at the end as if she were only talking to herself. Remembering her place though, she shook her head lightly and continued, "I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night."

"You too," Sasha responded, but she was already turned back to her car and walking away from him. He watched as she climbed into the driver's seat and started the car. He watched her until she had driven from sight and as he sat at the table, he continued to watch her, replaying their meetings over in his head. He searched his memories for some clue that she felt the same about him as he was feeling about her. Did she feel the same crazy connection that he did?

For a second time that night, a car door slamming brought Sasha out of his thoughts abruptly. Half expecting and fully hoping to see that Madelyn had returned, Sasha was disappointed when he saw Summer coming toward him, carrying a bottle of wine. Mentally kicking himself, Sasha forced a smile on his face and reminded himself that this was Summer. He liked her, was well on his way to possibly even falling in love with her.

Wanting to remind himself of those feelings, he wrapped her in his embrace and kissed her enthusiastically on the cheek, ignoring that niggling voice in his head that noticed something was missing. They sat down at the table—Summer sitting in Madelyn's recently vacated seat—and Sasha once again had to tamp down that hollow feeling in his chest stemming from his disappointment that a certain redhead was not in her place.

Yes, Sasha was worried…and he didn't like it one bit.

* * *

Maddy's eyes opened, emerging from a deep, dreamless sleep. Glancing around at the unfamiliar room illuminated by the green numbers from the digital alarm clock, Maddy sat up quickly, disoriented, before she remembered where she was. She was in Boulder, Colorado. She had packed up her things and moved, quite literally, across the country. She had driven for four days in order to become the assistant coach at the Rock.

Groaning, Maddy fell back onto the bed. Had she really done it? Had she really broken six years worth of vows stating that she would never again become entangled with the gymnastics world?

She had lived in peace for the last six years. Sure, the days and months following the disaster at the Olympics had been difficult, but she had resolved not to watch the television or read the nasty blogs on the internet. People were cruel. Maddy had learned that the hard way and it was a lesson not easily forgotten.

It had been years since Maddy had heard anything hurtful about herself—of course, using her middle name and hiding for the last six years helped with that—but Maddy knew that that would all change today. Today was her first day at the Rock in a professional capacity. It was the first day of her official return to gymnastics and she knew that it was going to be brutal. Why had she _ever_ agreed to this?

Oh right, she remembered. Sasha _freaking_ Belov. That was why.

Clapping a hand over her eyes, she groaned once again. Six years of stern resolve had crumbled at the first sight of a pair of pretty blue eyes and a knee-buckling accent.

Looking over at the clock ashamedly, Maddy was not surprised to see that it was four o'clock in the morning. The sky was still dark behind the curtain and with the time difference, Maddy would just be waking up back in Maine, which was a habit that she feared would take her a few days to break.

Deciding that since she was awake she might as well get up, Maddy swung the sheets back and crawled out of bed, shuffling to the bathroom. She took a quick shower and emerged clean and ready to face the day. Figuring that she should look professional, she pulled on a long-sleeved, footless, emerald green unitard that exposed the pale skin of her back down to the bottom of her shoulder blades and pulled a gauzy white skirt over it that fell a few inches above her knees. She applied light make-up in the bathroom, figuring that it would probably all sweat off anyway, but then pulled her long hair into a loose side braid, sliding a thin white headband on top of her head. Slipping her feet into a pair of white flats, she grabbed her keys and headed out the door.

Ten minutes later, she was parked outside of the Rock, holding the Maine keychain in her hand. Could she do this? Once she used these keys—once she gained unaccompanied access to the Rock—her job was made official. Right now, she could change her mind. Just restart the car and drive all the way back home and forget that she had ever been crazy enough to sit down with Sasha while jazz played on the radio. She could forget the Rock, the expectations, the guilt, Payson Keeler…

_Could _she forget Payson Keeler? That girl had given Maddy her heart, had given herself over to Maddy's guidance and had let her lead her trustingly around the dance floor. Payson was in a place where she was truly ready to move forward and stop living in the past. Could Maddy betray her like that? Could she be that kind of coach?

Maddy's face contorted with disdain. No, she would _not_ be a bad coach; she would not let Payson down. She had accepted this job, had given her word to Payson and she would honor it even if it destroyed her.

Steadfast, Maddy opened her car door and nimbly leaped to the ground just as the sky began to lighten with the approaching dawn. She stalked over to the front door of the gym and confidently inserted a key, turning it quickly and throwing the door open wide. The lobby within was dark, but Maddy remembered the way into the gym and headed for the blue, double doors. Using her cell phone as a light source, she found the correct key and, taking a deep breath and exhaling it calmly, Maddy unlocked the inner doors to the Rock, simultaneously unlocking the doors within her mind.

For six years, Maddy had imprisoned Madelyn Reynolds—the three-time Olympic gold medalist—behind walls in her mind. She had not allowed the ambitious gymnast to emerge, but had instead suppressed her, keeping her separate from her retired life in fear that she would reveal her whereabouts to the gymnastics community. Instead, Maddy had become Blake, a young, struggling gymnast who had never made it to the big leagues, but still practiced for love of the sport. Cautiously, Madelyn Reynolds emerged from the gloom and broke the tenuous hold that Blake had on her strong limbs.

Madelyn was here to coach an Olympian because Blake was not capable of doing the job. So Madelyn Reynolds made her return to gymnastics to the roar of an empty gym and Blake faded into nonentity.

Maddy quickly found the light switches and flipped them, immediately swathing the gym in bright, fluorescent light. She inhaled the familiar scent of chalk and her eyes pored lovingly over the equipment. This was her home now.

Looking at the clock, Maddy saw that it was only 5:00am, so she figured that she had at least an hour until the more dedicated gymnasts began to show up to train. She walked over to the mats and began to stretch, taking her time to warm the muscles that had been crammed into a car for the last four days. When she felt limber and loose, her eyes fell upon the beam and she approached it, walking its length as her hand trailed behind her, memorizing the feel and texture of it. When she reached the end, she closed her eyes and brought her other hand up to rest upon the beam.

Locking her elbows and utilizing her arms and abdominals, Maddy slowly pulled her body up off the mat, raising her feet gracefully until she was perfectly vertical, toes pointing to the ceiling. She held the position for several moments, breathing through her nose, but then she parted her legs, seamlessly going into a split in mid-air and then bringing her foot down to push herself to a standing position. Extending her right leg before her, she did a front walkover followed by a front tuck. She landed solidly on the beam, arms stretched to her sides and back arched as her chin pointed to the ceiling. Moving her arms and legs gracefully, she danced her way to the end of the beam, spinning her body in a half-turn. Taking a deep breath, she performed a free aerial cartwheel, going immediately into back handspring. Holding her hands up to the ceiling, she flipped her body over backwards with a quarter-turn, landing on her palms in another perfect vertical handstand. Tightening her abdominal muscles, she forced her body to remain straight as she began lowering it, moving from a vertical position to a near horizontal position and holding it. When the burn in her muscles became too great, she separated her legs and lowered herself to the beam in a split, raising her right hand out directly in front of her.

She slowly blinked her eyes open and without turning her head, she acknowledged loudly, "Good morning, Coach Belov."

She turned her head to the right and lowered her arm, confirming that she was, in fact, no longer alone in the gym. Sasha stood before her, wearing a pair of worn blue jeans and a gray Henley shirt, sleeves pushed up to his elbows. He looked at her intently, eyes roving over her face in the same way that they had last night. Maddy noticed that he had a certain way of looking at her, as if he was trying to find the answers to his unasked questions in her face. He had done the same thing last night and, shamefully fearing that he might be able to, Maddy had found it difficult to meet his eyes. She had feared that he would see so much more than she wanted him to understand.

"How did you know?" he asked incredulously. "Your eyes were closed the whole time."

She smiled and slipped off the beam. "It's hard to explain," she answered as she began to walk over to him.

He stood next to her shoes, which she had kicked off on the mats when she had started stretching, and as she bent to pick them up, he said, "Try."

She rose slowly as she tried to think how to answer him, looking into his eyes as she found the words. "You remember when Payson and I finished dancing back in Maine?" she asked him.

He nodded. "I don't think that I'll ever forget that," he confided softly.

She blushed and looked away from his eyes briefly. "I asked her what she felt," Maddy continued. Licking her lips, Maddy gushed, "When you dance like we were able to, you just become aware of everything going on around you. It's almost like you can feel the audience's emotions. So even though my eyes were closed, I could feel you watching me."

Sasha nodded thoughtfully. "Does it really make you feel free?" he asked.

Maddy smiled and answered, "As a bird."

She brushed past him and went to place her shoes against the wall by the door. Checking the clock, she realized with surprise that it was a few minutes past 5:30am. Her stomach knotted and she turned quickly back to Sasha. "When can we expect everyone?" she asked nervously.

"Around six," Sasha replied. As if he already knew, he asked, "How are you feeling?"

Walking slowly back toward him, she wrapped her arms around herself. "Honestly?" she answered. "Terrified."

Sasha gripped her upper arms and said, "You're going to be great." He smiled and beckoned her to follow him. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

Maddy followed him as he headed towards the gymnast's lockers, leading her down a hallway that led to a back door. He pushed it open and walked into a smaller room that was dark except for the red light emanating from an exit sign above a door, leading to the outside. Sasha leaned into the handle, stepping into the crisp morning air onto the tar outside and holding the door open for her. Ignoring her bare feet, Maddy followed him in curiosity as he walked to a building behind the gym. Fishing his keys from his pocket, Sasha unlocked the door and once again held it open for her as she cautiously stepped into the dark building. She heard the door close behind her and then three clicks as Sasha turned the lights on.

Maddy's eyes opened wide in surprise. Before her were several pieces of men's gymnastics equipment, including a high bar, parallel bars, a pommel horse, and another set of rings, but in the far right corner of the room, Maddy saw mirrors reflecting the images of the objects back to her. A polished, wooden bar adorned the walls, just as she had requested.

Raising her hand to her mouth as she gasped, Maddy quickly ran over to the bar, resting a hand gently upon the wood. She moved her feet into the first position and performed a beautiful plie, then she spun on the ball of her right foot away from the mirror as she raised her left leg to rest upon the bar. Holding her hands above her head and almost forming a circle, she leaned forward with her hands to almost touch her toes and then leaned back again, elongating her neck and stretching out her left hand toward the ceiling and her right toward Sasha who stood ten feet away, smiling at her.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"Well, you were right," Sasha admitted. "My girls could use a few lessons in grace."

"About that," Maddy said as she lowered herself from the bar.

A worried look came upon his face as he asked hesitantly, "What?"

"I didn't mean only the girls," she said slowly.

Sasha exhaled heavily in relief. "I thought you had changed your mind," Sasha confided. "I'll make sure to tell the guys as well."

"Thanks. Coach Belov," she paused, "I'm not changing my mind. I'm here now and I plan on staying as long as you'll have me."

"I'm glad to hear that," Sasha said as a bright smile appeared on his face. "And quite relieved, I must say."

They stood in silence for a moment, until Maddy broke the silence. "Well, how about a tour until everyone gets here?" she asked.

"Of course. Come with me," Sasha answered and he led the way back to the main door.

* * *

An hour after Sasha had finished with her tour, Maddy was sequestered in his office, sitting with her back against the wall and bouncing a tennis ball back and forth repeatedly. Sasha had asked her to stay there until he had a chance to speak and break the news of her employment to the parents privately, rather than just have them see her working straight off. She was fine with this tactic, but it was the interminable waiting that was the problem. She had tried napping to alleviate the boredom. She had tried singing, humming, and dancing. She had sat in silent meditation and she had planned her training program for Payson. And now here she sat, reduced to watching a ball bounce off the floor, hit the wall, and return to her palm. So far, she was turning into an excellent coach.

The rub was that Maddy had heard Payson arrive thirty minutes ago and she itched to get started. She wanted to bound down those stairs and surprise Payson, immediately setting to work, but until she dealt with the politics of the parents, she was stuck here.

She took to lightly thunking her head against the wall as the ball bounced and it was into this pathetic scene that Kim Keeler strode, slinging her purse off her shoulder. She jumped back, startled to see someone unexpected in the office, but then her face brightened and she smiled excitedly when she saw whom it was. She immediately turned back to the doorway, mouth opening to call for Payson, but Maddy quickly held up a hand, silencing Kim's shout.

Taking the hint, Kim asked, "What are you doing in here?"

"Playing catch," Maddy answered sarcastically.

Kim laughed and sat down in her chair at the desk, swiveling it back to Maddy's direction. "No, really," she continued, "why aren't you out there? Payson's been so excited for your arrival."

"I'm hiding from the parents," Maddy whispered conspiratorially. "Sasha's going to call a meeting when more of them get here so that we can just be open and hear what they have to say."

"Steve Tanner is not going to like being ambushed like that," Kim warned.

"So I've heard," Maddy replied. "But I have a surprise for him, too."

"Oh yeah?" Kim questioned curiously. "And what would that be?"

"A choice," Maddy offered, but didn't say anything else on the subject, instead going back to bouncing the ball against the wall. She continued that for a few moments until she spoke up, "Hey Kim, would you help me with something?"

"Sure," she said. "What is it?"

"Would you help me find an apartment?"

An hour and a half later, Maddy and Kim had found three listings that looked suitable for Maddy's needs. The first two were one-bedroom apartments, both located only few blocks from the Rock, but the second was a small cottage a few miles outside of town. Judging by the pictures and her recent preference for solitude, Maddy had a feeling that she would choose the cottage, but she had set up meetings with the realtor of the apartments—as well as for the cottage—for later that afternoon anyway. They were printing out the picture of the small house when Sasha walked into the office, his face all business.

He caught Maddy's eye and asked, "Are you ready?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed exasperatedly, eager to get the meeting over with so that she could finally begin her coaching. Thus far, her first day was not what she had been expecting.

Sasha nodded. "All right," he said. "Give me a few minutes and then come in."

Maddy nodded, already planning to disobey him, but confirmed anyway, "Gotcha."

Sasha disappeared once again from the office and Maddy began searching the desktops for a pad of paper. Opening a drawer, she found a yellow legal pad and snatched a black pen from a cup on the desk. She scribbled a few lines on it and then dutifully waited a minute or two, deciding that that was more than long enough. She stood quickly, smoothed her skirt, and said to Kim, "Wish me luck."

Kim smiled at her and gave her a thumbs-up, which Maddy took encouragingly. At least one of the parents was on her side.

Chin held high, Maddy emerged from the office, averting her eyes from the gymnasts practicing on the floor, and directed herself to the viewing area where Sasha was speaking with the parents. Maddy could tell that she hadn't given him enough time to introduce the subject, but she was done waiting. She strode purposefully into the room and, amid gasps and shocked expressions, Maddy came to stand next to Sasha, who had stopped talking mid-sentence.

Smiling up at him innocently, Maddy decided to take the matter into her own hands. She looked at the parents before her and noticed that most of them only looked shocked, but two men looked outright hostile at her unexpected appearance. The first was a bald man in his early forties with a black goatee and the second was a light brown-haired man wearing a tan suit.

Taking a deep breath and wearing a determined expression, Maddy began speaking, "Hello. Let's just get this over with, shall we?" she asked politely. "My name is Madelyn Reynolds and yes, six years ago I walked out of the Olympics without claiming my medals. And no, I will not tell you why, so please don't ask." She fiddled with the legal pad that she held in her hands before continuing, "I was approached a few weeks ago by Coach Belov about a position here at the Rock to coach your children and I've accepted."

Several parents' expressions began to harden, but some looked mildly impressed. Not completely discouraged, Maddy held up the legal pad and said, "If, however, you are completely opposed to me coaching your child, please sign your name on this sheet along with the name of your son or daughter so that I might pass them by." She paused, staring down the parents. "I've already taken the liberty of adding a name to the list of people whom I won't coach. Do what you think is best for your gymnast. Thank you."

With that, Maddy slapped the legal pad down on an empty chair in front of her and turned to walk out of the parent's viewing area before anyone could say anything. Proud of herself—and praying fiercely that no other parent signed that list—Maddy forced herself to walk purposefully over to the main area of the gym. She could see Payson standing turned away from her, so she whistled loudly enough to get her attention and followed it up by saying, "Payson. What do you say we get to work?"

Payson spun around swiftly and a smile lit her face. "Coach Reynolds!" she exclaimed. "You're finally here."

"You're telling me," Maddy replied with a smile as Payson jogged to stand before her. "So, I was thinking that—"

Maddy was interrupted by the loud shout coming from a man behind her. She had been waiting for this confrontation and therefore she was completely composed when she spun around slowly to face the man in the tan suit who could only be Mr. Tanner. Crossing her arms slowly and looking at him with a thoroughly annoyed expression, Maddy waited for the fireworks to begin.

Steve Tanner stalked menacingly toward Maddy, holding the legal pad up in his hand as he shouted with a red face, "You want to tell me the meaning of this?"

Calmly, Maddy replied, "Well, I should think that my meaning was quite clear."

"Not to me," Steve yelled, not so calmly.

"Daddy," Lauren called as she ran to her father's side. "What's going on?"

"That's a good question," Steve answered and Maddy saw that the parents had filed out onto the floor to watch and that Kim was walking down the steps from the office to witness the commotion. Sasha stood behind Steve Tanner, looking almost as confused as the several gymnasts who had stopped training to watch the spectacle.

"What _is_ going on?" Steve demanded, whirling around to stab a finger into Sasha's chest. "You have no right to hire another coach without the approval of the parents."

"Actually, Steve," Kim called out in Sasha's defense, "He does."

Stammering, Steve turned back to Maddy, once again glaring daggers at her. Maddy saw Lauren roll her eyes in frustration and rip the legal pad from her father's hand. Her eyes darted across the page and Maddy watched the confused frown appear on her face.

Placing a hand on her hip, Lauren asked, "What is this? Why is my name written down?"

"Exactly what I want to know," Steve seconded.

"It's simple," Maddy calmly explained. "The last time that I was here, Lauren explicitly expressed that she did not want me to coach her. And, quite honestly, I have no desire to coach her anyway." She looked at Lauren whose eyes widened in shock and her father began to shake with his anger, but Maddy continued, "I thought that we were all on the same page. Apparently, I was wrong."

Maddy took two steps toward Steve Tanner and lowered her voice so that only those in the immediate area could her hear words. "Allow me to make myself clear," she began. "Not for any amount of money in the world would I coach your daughter, Mr. Tanner." She raised her voice again and finished, "I can't coach someone who doesn't respect me or my methods. _That _is why she is on the list. And she will remain there until she proves otherwise."

Steve Tanner was silent, apoplectic with rage. Maddy took the opportunity to end the conversation and said politely, "If you'll excuse me, I have work to do." She took a step back and turned to Payson, smiling and saying, "What do you say we head out to our studio, Ms. Keeler." Facing Steve bravely again, who was stammering, trying to find a response, Maddy finished, "Good day, Mr. Tanner."

She then turned her back on him and his affronted daughter, following Payson as she jauntily led the way to the annex building.

Just as Maddy was about to walk from the floor, she heard Steve yell, "This isn't over! I'll make sure you regret this!"

Pretending to be unaffected, Maddy continued her march from the gym without looking back.

* * *

**Be sure to let me know what you think so far!**


	5. Sins of the Past

**Hey, all! **

**Okay, so it has been a wicked long time since I've posted a chapter, but the new episode the other night put me back in a MIOBI mood (this is random, but was anyone else incredibly disappointed with it? I mean, the whole vampire beginning? and Carter's holier-than-thou attitude? and the Kelly/Lauren slut-off? I seriously didn't know whether to laugh or cry). Anyway, now that my rant is over, here is Chapter 5!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Maddy. If I did, we would have watched a totally different episode the other night!**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Sins of the Past**

It was only three o'clock in the afternoon, but Maddy was exhausted, both physically and mentally. As she stood there in the annex building, while Payson worked through the tumble portions of her floor routines, it was all Maddy could do to keep her attention from wandering.

Following her rather dramatic showdown with Steve Tanner, Maddy had retreated to the back building with Payson, throwing them both headlong into work so that neither had time to think about what was happening in the main gym. It had been almost two hours before someone else had come to join them and Maddy had been both relieved and anxious to see that it was Sasha—or more accurately, she was more anxious to see what he had been holding tightly in his hand.

He had stopped just shy of the floor mat and had looked at Maddy with the most intimidating frown that she had ever seen…and she had been on the receiving end of some very formidable looks before.

"Coach Reynolds," he had growled. "May I speak with you for a moment? Alone?"

Pretending to be perfectly cheerful, Maddy had responded with a breathy, "Of course."

Sasha had then pivoted sharply on his toes and led the way back to the door. Maddy had rolled her eyes at Payson and smiled. "Looks like I'm in trouble. Continue working on your arm extensions. They need to look endless for the lead-in to the front walk-over."

Maddy had then taken a deep breath, blew it out heavily from her lips, and walked outside to face the music. She was not disappointed. Almost immediately, Sasha rounded on her yelling, "What the hell was that?"

Maddy shrugged and opened her mouth to explain, but Sasha continued, interrupting her. "I mean, you must be crazy to go against Steve Tanner like that!" Sasha placed his hands on his hips. "If you had just given me more time, we could have avoided all of this! We might have been able to win him over, but now all you've done is make yourself his enemy."

Raising her voice, Maddy retorted, "All I did was show him that I'm not going to be his puppet." She paused, then continued, "Are you honestly going to tell me that you just bend to Steve Tanner's will every time that he snaps his fingers? I haven't known you for very long, but I find that highly doubtful."

"Of course I don't bend to Steve's every whim," Sasha countered frustratedly, "but I don't go looking to deliberately bait him." He rubbed a hand down his face and turned away from her, sighing. "If you had just given me more _time_…" Sasha trailed off.

Softly, in order not to aggravate his anger any more, Maddy replied, "I could have given you a century, but all the time in the world would not have changed Steve Tanner's mind." Maddy shrugged and said, "At least this way, I got to keep some semblance of my pride."

Sasha turned to look at her questioningly as she continued, blinking furiously as she revealed more to him than she had planned. "I don't have much," she said vulnerably in a forlorn voice. "I don't have friends, I don't have family, and I don't have my good name anymore." She laughed humorlessly and shrugged, "I gave all those up when I gave up my medals." She paused, resting her hands on her hips. "More than that, I gave up my pride, my dignity. For years I was the sports world's punching bag, I was the punch line of every joke." She raised her head and looked him in the eyes, wrapping her arms around herself. "I want it back. And if that means that I have to go through the Steve Tanners of the world? Then I say it's about time I finally stand up for myself."

Sasha sighed and folded his arms across his chest, looking down at the ground. Seeing this, Maddy knew that he was on her side, that, while he might not have approved of her methods, he was going to stand by her and her decisions.

Maddy waited and he finally looked up at her. "I said that we would do this your way," he said, defeated, "and I meant it."

Maddy smiled gloriously, for the first time feeling like she had done the right thing in uprooting her life and returning to gymnastics. For a split second, she was incandescently happy…and then she remembered the list.

Biting her lip, her heart in her throat, she asked, "How many signed the list?"

Sasha shrugged and proffered her the list, "Not as many as I thought."

Maddy lunged for it and saw that two names had been added underneath the one that she had written. Maddy's heart fell. The name underneath Lauren's was of a female gymnast that she didn't recognize, but the third one stung.

_Kaylie Cruz_. The National Champion.

Unable to say anything, Maddy gently pressed the notepad into Sasha's chest as she walked by, letting go of it as he grasped it. She continued to stride back to the annex building without letting the hurt show on her face by holding her head high.

Regardless of this, Sasha was able to see through her façade and turned saying sincerely, "Maddy, I'm so sorry."

Maddy slowly turned back to him and nodded once, raising her eyes and said thoughtfully, "You know, I could have worked wonders with Kaylie. I was looking forward to it." Maddy paused and gestured futilely with her hands, and then she continued, "I could have taken her performance to the next level. Made her unforgettable." She shrugged and smiled, "Oh well."

Leaving Sasha behind, Maddy pulled open the door and walked in to see Payson extending her limbs as she performed a flawless front walk-over with ease. Pushing all thoughts of the list from her mind, Maddy had thrown herself back into her work with Payson, until three o'clock had come around and Maddy decided that it was quitting time.

"All right, Payson," she called. "Good work for today."

"Are we finished?" Payson asked confusedly.

"Unfortunately, yes," Maddy replied. "On a normal day, we'll keep working until five or so, but right now, I have to go see a man about a dog."

"What?" Payson asked with a smile, not understanding Maddy's strange expression.

"Your mom set me up with a realtor," Maddy explained, glancing at the clock. "I'm supposed to meet her in a few minutes. Go head over to the main gym to work with Sasha."

Maddy walked over to the duffel bag that she had brought in earlier from her car. She quickly stripped her white overskirt off and turned to face Payson again. "How about we get started at seven tomorrow?" she asked.

"Perfect," Payson smiled. "I'll be here."

"All right. Have a good night," Maddy said to Payson and the young gymnast turned to head towards the gym.

Maddy bent and pulled a pair of jeans from her bag, slipping one of her legs into them as the door opened again. Figuring that it was just Payson, Maddy finished pulling her jeans up over her hips and then turned back to face her, but was shocked to see that it was not who she was expecting.

She chuckled softly at the young man swaggering toward her, but she remained silent as she buttoned and zipped her jeans. He looked maybe three or four years younger than Maddy and he was attractive, but the problem was that he knew it. Inwardly, Maddy shook her head. Attractive, cocky, and talented. It was never a good mix in a young athlete.

He came to stand before her, folding his arms across his chest, but he remained silent. Deciding to wait him out, Maddy reached into her duffel and removed a white, long-sleeved tunic and slipped it over her head so that her unitard peeked through the low neckline. Mimicking him, she then crossed her arms and waited for him to speak with an eyebrow raised and a small, amused smile gracing her lips.

Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "Austin Tucker."

"Is that so?" Maddy replied. She pretended to rack her brain and then said, "Never heard of you. Should I have?"

Austin chuckled good-naturedly, thinking that she was joking. Maddy blinked at him and he seemed to realize that she wasn't playing with him. He dropped his arms in shock and said, "I'm a 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist."

Maddy shook her head, shrugged, and said, "Sorry. Not ringing any bells."

"Austin Tucker," he repeated as if to jog her memory. "I mean, I know that you've been living under a rock for the past couple of years, but surely you saw the banner out front?"

Satisfied that he was at least slightly humbled, Maddy chalked his insult about the "rock" up to his wounded pride and decided to end the charade. "You know," Maddy replied with a smile, "Now that you mention it, I seem to remember such a banner." She extended her hand, ending their playful banter, "Maddy Reynolds."

Austin took her hand in his own and said, "I know who you are. You're a legend."

Uncomfortable with the direction that the conversation had taken, Maddy extricated her hand and, bending to pick up her duffel, said, "So they say."

Swinging her bag onto her shoulder, she walked past Austin wordlessly, but when she had almost reached the door, she turned back to him. "Hey, Tucker," she called and he met her eyes. "Be sure to tell the guys that I don't bite. This building isn't only for Payson and myself."

Before he could reply, Maddy had pushed open the door and walked outside.

* * *

Maddy tossed her duffel into the back seat of her SUV and slammed the door. She pulled open the driver's door and lifted a leg inside, intending to drive over to her meeting with the realtor that she and Kim had set up earlier.

Just as she was about to climb into the car, she heard a pair of clacking heels on the pavement and a breathless, "Coach Reynolds!"

Maddy did the math. Clacking heels plus the female voice and the surprise attack added up to one thing: gym mom. And the way that Maddy's day was going, it was probably an _angry_ gym mom.

"Oh Lordie," Maddy mumbled, blowing air through her lips. "Give me strength."

Not quite able to plaster a smile on her face, Maddy settled for an expression that at least didn't shout disgruntled. Instead, she went with a questioning one as she turned around.

Before her stood a beautiful, young blonde woman who was probably in her late-twenties. She was dressed conservatively and wore a cross necklace around her throat. Maddy frowned. This woman didn't look like a gym mom, so who was she and what did she want?

The woman caught up to Maddy as she jumped out of the car in curiosity. She closed the distance between them and held out her hand, saying "Hi there. My name is Summer Van Horn."

"Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Van Horn," Maddy responded politely, shaking the woman's petite hand. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm the manager of the Rock," Summer began, but Maddy crossed her arms and interrupted her.

"I thought that Kim Keeler was the manager."

"Oh, excuse me," Summer shrugged and continued, "We co-manage the gym."

Maddy nodded slowly and Summer stared silently at her. Unsure of where the conversation was headed since Summer didn't seem to have anything on her mind, Maddy spoke. "Is that all, Ms. Van Horn?" She shrugged apologetically and gave a small smile, "I'm late for a meeting."

Summer looked slightly affronted at her bluntness, but answered her with a smile and a small chuckle, "Sasha warned me that you weren't exactly friendly."

Maddy felt her face go from a polite expression to a cold and angular one as her temper flared slightly. "He did, did he?" Maddy asked brusquely.

Summer's face paled, mortified that she had so clearly upset Maddy. "Oh my goodness," she quickly exclaimed. "I didn't mean to imply that you _weren't _friendly. I just meant that Sasha mentioned you were a private person."

Maddy lowered her head and answered awkwardly, "Yeah, well. When you get heckled everytime you go out, you tend to keep to yourself."

"I can only imagine," Summer empathized. There was an awkward silence as Summer waited for Maddy to volunteer something, but when she just fiddled with her keys, Summer seemed to get the point. "Well," she said, clasping her hands in front of her, "I just wanted to introduce myself and welcome you to the Rock."

Smiling warmly, Maddy responded politely. "Thank you. It was a pleasure to meet you Ms. Van Horn."

Summer waved her hand. "Summer, please," she said with a smile. "See you tomorrow."

"Yes, most definitely," Maddy nodded.

Summer began to walk away and Maddy turned back to her car, feeling foolish. The woman had only been trying to be nice and Maddy had jumped down her throat! Sometimes, she seriously despised her infernal temper since it seemed to only get her into trouble. Feeling mortified at the scared expression that had been on Summer's face just moments ago—and ignoring the hurt that came from hearing that Sasha hadn't thought she was friendly—she turned back away from her car.

Calling out at her retreating back, Maddy yelled, "Ms. Van Horn!" Summer turned around, surprised, and Maddy amended, "I mean, Summer." Licking her lips nervously, Maddy continued, "I was just headed out to meet a realtor and look at some apartments. I could use a second opinion. Would you like to join me, maybe?"

Feeling a blush tinting her cheeks, Maddy realized that it had been six years since she had asked anyone to do _anything_ with her. Apparently, she was incredibly rusty at it.

Graciously ignoring Maddy's awkwardness, Summer smiled. "Sure," she said sincerely. "Let me go and get my purse."

"All right," Maddy nodded. "I'll be right here."

Maddy turned around and climbed back into her car, slipping her Ray-Bans onto her face and exhaling heavily. Minutes later, Summer climbed up into the SUV and Maddy turned on her car. Immediately, a beautiful piano melody emanated from the speakers that Maddy had been listening to that morning.

"This is beautiful," Summer sighed as she listened. "Who is it?"

Shaking her head, Maddy answered quickly, "I don't remember."

"It sounds…determined," Summer suggested. She laughed suddenly, "Can music sound determined?"

As Maddy began to drive down the road, she answered, "Music can sound like whatever you want it to."

Summer nodded thoughtfully as she continued to listen. Moments later, she asked, "So, Coach Reynolds, how was your first day?"

"Maddy, please," she corrected. "And it wasn't what I was expecting."

"How so?"

Honestly, Maddy responded, "It was much calmer than I thought it would be."

"Calm?" Summer repeated incredulously. "Steve Tanner yelling at you is calm?"

Maddy laughed genuinely. "Again," she said, "When you're used to getting heckled, you grow a pretty thick skin. It will take more than raised voices to shake me."

Cautiously, Summer asked, "Do people really act like that around you?"

Clearing her throat, Maddy said, "I wish I could say that I was exaggerating, but I'm not."

"I'm sorry," Summer apologized. "That must have been hard."

"I was young," Maddy agreed seriously, "and it did hurt to hear. Especially since no one knew the real story. It hurt that they all thought so little of me."

"What _was_ the real story?" Summer asked boldly, her question followed by a tense silence.

"I could see us becoming friends, Summer," Maddy said hesitantly, trying her hardest not to sound harsh. "So I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't ever ask me that again. It's personal."

"I'm sorry," Summer said abashedly.

Sighing, Maddy continued, "I don't mean to be rude about it, it's just—"

"No, I understand," Summer interrupted hurriedly. "Some things people just don't need to know about. I get it."

Smiling gratefully, Maddy thanked her as she pulled her car into a parking lot, stopping next to the realtor's car.

"All right," Maddy said cheerfully to her. "Let's go find me a new home."

* * *

Later that evening, when Maddy dropped Summer off at the gym, it was with a feeling of contentment. Not only had Maddy found herself a beautiful place to stay—she had decided to go with the stone cottage after all—but she had also started to make herself a wonderful friend.

As Maddy pointed her SUV to leave the Rock's parking lot, her eyes met with Sasha's as he crossed to his trailer. He raised his hand to wave at her and smiled brightly, causing Maddy to feel a pang of disappointment. Ignoring it, she waved politely back at him and continued on her way.

As she drove back to the motel, she remembered the only upsetting part of her afternoon following the initial awkwardness of her and Summer's conversation. It had happened as they had been driving out to the cottage, following behind the realtor.

Summer had turned to her and asked conspiratorially, "So, what do you think of Sasha?"

"Oh," Maddy had said surprised, color rushing to her cheeks. "He seems nice. I haven't really talked with him much."

"He takes some getting to know," Summer had responded. "But once you do, he's really rather sweet."

"Sweet?" Maddy had asked incredulously. "I never would have thought that the 'bad boy' of gymnastics would ever be referred to as _sweet_."

Summer had laughed. "His bad boy days are far behind him, I think," she had confessed. "I'll admit, when we first started seeing each other, I had my doubts, but he's a lot different now."

Maddy had been shocked and had experienced an unpleasant sensation that had felt an awful lot like her hopes had been dashed. Choosing not to dwell on that feeling, she had asked, "Wait, you're dating Coach Belov?"

"Yes," Summer had said. "People are always surprised when I tell them that."

Maddy had forced herself to smile. "No," she had said. "I mean that it's excellent."

"Yeah," Summer had smiled, "So far, it is."

Remembering that conversation now, Maddy laughed self-deprecatingly. Of course Sasha Belov was dating someone! He was _Sasha Belov_, after all. How silly of her to think that she had felt some sort of connection between them the other night.

Maddy sighed, thinking back over her pathetic dating experience. When was the last time that she had actually been on a date? Oh right, it had been Strange Stan, so nicknamed because he was—you guessed it—wicked strange. He had spent the night trying to convince her that he could communicate with the dead. Needless to say, there had never been a date number two. Even before Stan though, her dating experience had been pathetically meager. Her entire adolescence had been dominated by gymnastics and she had never gotten involved with a boy, choosing instead to focus upon her career. And then following the Great Gymnastics Debacle of 2004, she still hadn't bothered to date anyone, deciding that it was much too hard to get to know someone when she couldn't really tell them anything about herself without risking exposure.

Turning into her motel lot and parking her car, Maddy rested her head against the steering wheel and exhaled heavily, wallowing briefly in self-pity. She was twenty-four years old, a social pariah, and a virgin. Of course Sasha Belov wouldn't look twice at her.

Leaning back and shaking her head, Maddy put an end to her pity party. She was here to coach a gym full of elite gymnasts, not to make eyes at their head coach. She had a job to do and she would do it. Hell, she had survived the last six years happily without a man in her life and she had no need of one now. Summer was a wonderful, beautiful, and vibrant woman and Sasha was lucky to have her.

Feeling better, Maddy climbed out of her car and unlocked the door to her motel, falling onto her bed unceremoniously.

* * *

"Good, Payson," Maddy encouraged. "That's looking excellent."

Maddy stood watching Payson carefully work on her beam routine with her arms folded across her chest. She was wearing normal clothes today—a white v-neck t-shirt and a pair of light jeans with large holes in the knees—and she brushed her hair out of her face as she turned to watch the girl on the beam next to Payson.

"Keep those toes pointed, Emily," Maddy coached.

After Payson, Emily was the most talented girl that Maddy had begun to work with. Unfortunately, she had confidence issues—a problem that Maddy could relate to—and so she had taken it upon herself to show the young girl just how special she really was.

As Maddy saw Emily's face fall at the criticism and her insecurity grow, Maddy laid a hand on the beam in front of her, forcing her to stop. Emily looked down at her, sighing heavily and rolling her eyes in frustration.

"I don't understand why my toes are so important if I can land the flic-flac," she said.

Trying to prove a point, Maddy turned back to Payson and said, "Payson, run through your beam routine again, but this time, don't point your toes or reach your full extensions, okay?"

"But…" Payson questioned.

"Please," Maddy said.

Shrugging, Payson complied with Maddy's wishes as she and Emily watched. When the routine had finished, Maddy looked back up at Emily. "Did you see it?" she asked.

"Yeah," Emily sighed. "It looked messy."

"It looked downright ugly," Maddy confirmed. Beckoning to her, Maddy said, "Come down here. Sit on the mat."

Emily hopped down off the beam and sat upon the floor. Maddy knelt down onto her knees and reached for Emily's feet, pushing her toes down to the floor to stretch her legs. After several minutes of this, Maddy stood and offered Emily a hand.

"Go on," Maddy gestured back at the beam. "Get up there and do it again."

Maddy was watching Emily run through her routine again with a smile because her steps were more graceful this time, when all hell broke loose.

A crash resounded through the gym as the doors from the lobby bounced off the walls and there was a lot of shouting as flashes began to light the gym. Turning around in horror, Maddy was terrified to see that at least fifty people were trying to push their way into the Rock and each one of them carried a microphone, camera, camcorder, or a combination of all three. They began to yell at anyone who was near them, so many voices straining to be heard other the others that their words were unintelligible, but Maddy got the point.

Sasha immediately went over to them with a furious expression upon his face, but they ignored his objections, shoving a microphone into his face instead and blinding him with several flashes. The rabble continued until Maddy could take it no longer.

Leaping up onto the recently abandoned balance beam, Maddy let out a piercing whistle and screamed, "Hey!"

The reporters stopped screaming and turned to look at her, thankfully going quiet and stilling their cameras. They looked up at her expectantly and so she spoke angrily, "Go outside." Several reporters looked like they were going to object so Maddy quickly added, "I'll meet you out there."

That seemed to appease them and they left, restoring the gym to its abnormal quiet as everyone stood shell-shocked. Embarrassed, Maddy jumped down from the beam and landed nimbly on her bare feet, walking over to the doors to follow the reporters. As she neared Sasha, she wasn't able to look him in the eye, but as she walked past, he snagged her arm gently.

Maddy looked up and saw the concerned expression in his eyes, but she said firmly, "I'll take care of it."

She gently lifted his hand from her arm and walked out the double doors, closing them gently behind her. Standing alone in the lobby of the gym, she took a deep breath and ran her hands through her hair, smoothing her shirt.

Putting on an expressionless face to hide her fury, Maddy walked out the front doors to meet the bane of her existence and one of the main reasons why she had been forced to sequester herself: the media.

As soon as she stepped out into the sunlight, she was met with a cacophony of sounds and was blinded by several bright flashes. She saw equipment from all the major sports, news, and local stations and wondered how they had all managed to learn so quickly of her return to gymnastics.

She was bombarded with several questions such as "Madelyn, is it true that you're coaching here at the Rock?" and "Madelyn, what happened six years ago?" and "Maddy, where have you been?"

Holding up her hands for silence, Maddy didn't speak until they had all quieted. Licking her lips, she began firmly, "My name is Maddy Reynolds. Three weeks ago, I was approached by Sasha Belov, the head coach here at the Rock, and he offered me the position of assistant coach, which I have chosen to accept." She paused for a moment, but then continued, "That's all I have to say, except that you are not welcome inside the Rock. If you venture inside, the police will be involved. Thank you."

Maddy began to turn and she was assaulted by questions once again, but one pushy reporter shoved a microphone in her face and asked, "Madelyn, six years ago you walked out of the Olympics without any explanation. Tell us, what made you do such a thing?"

Hardening her expression, Maddy spoke clearly into the microphone and looked directly into the camcorder, saying, "I didn't tell you then and I won't tell you now."

Ignoring everything else, Maddy slipped back into the gym and closed the door firmly behind her, turning away from the reporters and their unending questions that they screamed to her. Holding her head high, she pulled open the doors that led to the floor of the gym and returned to see that the gymnasts were still standing motionless and staring at her.

Shifting uncomfortably and beginning to feel herself fall apart, Maddy strode purposefully through the gym, heading for the back door. She managed to reach it and blissfully shoved it open and stepped out into the sunlight. She began to pace back and forth as her breathing quickened and she fought to keep her emotions under control.

Almost as soon as the door had closed, she heard it pushed open again and turned to see that Sasha had followed her out.

"Are you all right?" he asked quietly, coming to stand next to her.

Putting on a brave face, Maddy replied, "I'm fine."

Sasha didn't say anything, but he raised his eyebrows and looked at her expectantly. Inwardly cursing, Maddy felt her face crumple and she turned away from him as she gave in to her hurt and betrayed feelings, letting several tears escape her eyes and fall down her cheeks.

Almost immediately, she felt Sasha's arms encircle her warmly, but she refused to turn around and bury her face in his chest as she so desperately longed to. Her shoulders shook silently and she felt his hands smooth her hair as he made comforting shushing noises.

After several moments, Maddy managed to bring herself under control and she stepped away from Sasha's embrace, turning back to look at him.

Wiping at her eyes, she said, "I'm sorry. I don't usually lose it like that."

"It's perfectly all right," Sasha comforted her. "Everyone loses it sometimes."

Maddy nodded.

"So what did they say?" Sasha asked.

Maddy laughed humorlessly, "The usual questions. Accusations."

Suddenly, Maddy became inexplicably furious and she began to stalk back and forth, her hands on her hips. "They'll never change," she growled. "They're the same soulless beasts that they were six years ago. Why can't they just leave me alone?" Without waiting for an answer, Maddy continued ranting, "I never wanted any of this. I just wanted to live my life in peace."

"I'm sorry," Sasha said sincerely, which only made Maddy angrier.

"I told you," she accused. "I told you that they wouldn't let it go. They still see the same girl that walked out on the Olympics. I'm still a disgrace!"

"Maddy—" Sasha said placatingly.

"No!" she interrupted. "This was a mistake. I was foolish to think that we could get away with this."

"This will all blow over soon, you'll see," Sasha said desperately, stepping toward her with his arms outstretched.

"No, it won't," Maddy challenged. "They'll never let go of the past. They'll never see me for who I am now. There's just no point. I'm sorry."

Turning away from Sasha, Maddy wiped at her cheeks and began to run. She ran away from the Rock, the reporters, and her shame. She ran from Sasha, who stood frozen to the spot, his chest hollow, screaming her name.

* * *

**So, what did you think? Be sure to leave me a comment or two. Anonymous reviews are welcome, too!**


	6. Roots

**Hello again, everyone! Here's the next chapter...**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Maddy.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Roots**

Maddy had been running for hours—ever since she had fled the Rock—and it was now twilight, but even though she had stopped pumping her legs, she could still feel herself running. She had been running for the past six years and she just now realized how exhausted she truly was.

Pushing her damp hair back from her face which was pink from her exertion, she turned the corner and found herself standing in front of the Rock where she could see her car reflecting the orange glow from the streetlights. As she stepped closer, she pulled her keys from her pocket and pushed the unlock button on the key fob, hearing a beep as the locks disengaged. She rounded the back of the car and jumped back in surprise.

Sasha was seated on the pavement, his back pressed against her car door with his elbows perched on his knees and his eyes closed. He was just sitting there and Maddy looked around her, wondering if she could still disappear and avoid the imminent conversation.

Even as she began to step gingerly back on her bare tiptoes, she heard Sasha's deep rumble, "You're not going to get off that easily."

Sighing heavily, Maddy slipped her finger through her key ring and spun them, letting them hit her palm with a loud smack. "Lookit," she began, "I'm tired, I'm sweaty, and I'm hungry. I really don't want to do this right now."

Sasha opened his eyes and stared up at Maddy, causing her to avert her gaze. Nervously, she continued to play with her keys, interrupting the heavy silence with the jangle of metal against metal and then the loud smack as they landed in her palm again.

Soon, the intensity of Sasha's glare and the thickness of the silence pushed Maddy to surrender first and speak. "What do you want from me, Belov?" she asked sullenly.

Sasha sprang to his feet quickly. "I want you to honor our agreement," he said forcefully.

Maddy scoffed. "_Our_ _agreement_?" she repeated angrily and stepped toward him menacingly, jabbing a finger into his chest. "Our agreement included the stipulation that there would be _no_ press."

"You think that I called them?" Sasha bellowed. "I didn't call _anyone_. You can thank yourself for their visit."

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked incredulously. "Why would I call those vultures?"

"You didn't, but you may as well have," Sasha explained in a low voice as his face came within inches of Maddy's. "Steve Tanner did. It seems that your stunt yesterday really pissed him off."

Maddy spun around in disgust for Steve Tanner, turning her back on Sasha. Rubbing her face roughly with her hand, she muttered, "Figures. I should have known."

Not as angrily, Sasha responded, "I did warn you."

Turning back around, Maddy felt her anger dissipate and she answered Sasha softly, "You did."

Sasha sighed and Maddy could see his posture relax as he too let go of his anger. "Listen," he began, "About what you said earlier—"

"I really don't want to talk about it right now," Maddy interrupted him.

"We have to talk now," Sasha insisted. "If we wait for tomorrow…" He trailed off as he placed his hands on his hips and walked in a small circle, gathering his thoughts. Shrugging his shoulders, he finished, "I don't know if you're going to be here tomorrow."

Maddy avoided his eyes, but Sasha could see the truth in her face. He scoffed. "You weren't even going to say good-bye, were you?" he asked disappointedly.

"Good-byes aren't really my thing," Maddy replied honestly, still studying the ground.

"Yeah," Sasha agreed sarcastically. "The whole world knows that."

Glaring up at him under her furrowed brow she responded, "That's not fair."

"Oh and you breaking our contract is?" Sasha growled. "We had a deal."

Walking up to stand next to him, Maddy stood at his shoulder and said quietly, "Deal's off." She brushed past him, laying a hand upon her door handle, but then she felt his strong fingers grasp her upper arm. She turned around to look up at him, surprised at how close he had stepped to her.

Boldly, she allowed herself to study his fair eyelashes as they grazed against his cheeks when he blinked. She noticed the stubble on his jaw and she smelled the alluring scent of his musky cologne mixed with the chalk from the gym. She felt the warmth of his fingers upon her skin and suddenly her breathing became shallow as she studied the curve of his lips.

"And what about Payson?" he asked quietly, his sweet breath puffing against her cheeks.

"She'll be fine," Maddy whispered regretfully. "She has a wonderful coach."

Maddy blinked and looked away from his eyes, but Sasha bent his head to catch them again as he pressed, "And Emily? She needs someone like you."

Maddy exhaled as she remembered the insecure gymnast whose background was similar to Maddy's own. "She has you," Maddy answered. "You'll become what she needs."

Sasha hung his head, but he didn't release Maddy's arm. Shaking his head as he stared unseeingly at the ground, he asked despairingly, "How can it be so easy for you to leave?" He raised his head and she saw confusion in his eyes. "How can you just abandon them?"

Realization struck Maddy with such force that it physically knocked the wind out of her. As she struggled to suck in a breath, she gripped Sasha's shoulder tightly to keep standing. Thankfully, she felt Sasha's arm wrap around her shoulders as he swept her off her feet easily, cradling her against his strong chest as he walked over to a bench and gently set her on it. Immediately, she missed the warmth of his body as she felt her limbs go cold and begin to shake.

Sasha knelt before her and rubbed her hands between his own, perplexed and worried by her reaction. Looking up at her, he brought a hand to her cheek as he realized that all color had faded from her face. Gazing at her concernedly, he waited for her to catch her breath while her eyes darted back and forth as if she was remembering something that had happened in her past.

She snapped her head up and looked at him with huge, fearful eyes. "Do you think that's how they'll see it?" she asked, seeming so small and lost to Sasha. "That I abandoned them, I mean."

Sasha took a deep breath as he tried to decide whether to give her the truth or not, but she spoke again before he could. "Don't lie to me," she demanded.

Sighing, Sasha replied honestly, "Yes."

She made a strangled noise and turned her eyes to the purple sky as she blinked furiously, trying not to let her tears overflow from her eyes. She was silent for a few moments until she had brought her emotions under control, but Sasha could see that her limbs continued to shake.

Finally, she met his eyes once again and Sasha could see the sadness and disappointment in them. Nevertheless, she spoke resolutely, "Then I'll stay. I won't leave."

Without waiting for his response, she extricated her hands from his and stood, pushing herself shakily to her feet and walking aimlessly in the direction of her car.

As he watched her, he couldn't help but ask. He simply had to know. "Why?" Sasha inquired, wondering what it was that had changed her mind.

She didn't turn around to face him, but Sasha could see her shaking her head. "It doesn't matter," she said strongly. "It's not important."

"It is to me," Sasha responded softly, causing her to turn back around to face him and meet his eyes.

She slipped her hands into her pockets and shrugged, not entirely sure why she felt the need to answer him honestly. "I swore a long time ago," she began slowly, "that I wouldn't repeat the mistakes of the past."

Frowning, he stepped closer to her. "What does that mean?" he asked.

Maddy just shook her head, not willing to elaborate any further, and Sasha seemed to get the hint as he just nodded his head. He too slipped his hands into his pockets and took a couple more steps toward her, staring back at the ground rather than at the woman standing before him.

Maddy was about to turn back to her car when she heard him gasp loudly. Surprised, she looked back up at him and saw that he was staring at her feet, resulting in her also looking down to see what he was staring at with such concern on his face.

Seeing what he saw, Maddy blushed and shifted her weight, trying to hide her feet from his view by stepping back. Before she could object, he made a strangled noise and leapt toward her, once again sweeping her up in his arms and catching her totally by surprise.

Struggling against him, Maddy asked, "What are you doing?"

"Why didn't you say anything?" Sasha demanded, an angry frown back on his face. He rolled his eyes as he answered his own question, "Oh right. I forgot how incredibly stubborn you are."

Maddy sighed exasperatedly and replied, "I'm not stubborn. And I can walk just fine."

"Not on those feet," Sasha ordered.

Maddy sagged in his arms and wrapped her own around his neck as she realized that he was not going to put her down. He continued walking and Maddy realized that he was carrying her back inside the Rock, deftly managing to open the door without pausing or needing to put her down. He did the same thing with the inner doors and flicked on one of the light switches, causing a faint light to illuminate the gym. He passed all the equipment and nimbly climbed the stairs to his office, turning his body slightly so that he could enter his doorway without knocking her limbs against the frame and he used his elbow to flick the light switches.

Sasha strode over to his black couch and set her gently upon the cushions, reluctantly releasing her from his arms and feeling slightly disappointed that she so quickly unwrapped her arms from around his neck. Leaning back, he pointed a finger down at her and ordered, "Stay."

She scoffed and smiled up at him. "Last time I checked, I wasn't an Irish setter," she replied sarcastically.

Ignoring her comment, Sasha opened a drawer and retrieved the large first aid kit and a bottle of water from it, returning to her side and perching atop the coffee table in front of the couch. Unzipping the bag, he reached in and removed a roll of gauze, a towel, several tubes of cream, and a bottle of peroxide. He heard her sigh and looked up just in time to see her roll her eyes and slouch back into the cushions.

Staring at her reproachfully under a furrowed brow, he was silent as he reached down and grabbed her slender ankle, pulling it up to rest on his lap after he had spread the towel over his legs.

Maddy snatched her foot back quickly and said, "I can take care of this myself."

"Yes, I can see that you take such great care of your body," he replied sarcastically.

"It wasn't like I did it on purpose," she retorted. She shrugged petulantly and said, "I didn't even really notice until you started making a fuss about it."

"You didn't notice?" Sasha asked incredulously.

Shrugging embarrassedly, she answered softly, "I had other things on my mind."

Shaking his head, he once again reached down and gently grasped her ankle firmly, placing it back onto his lap as he studied it intently. He was struck again at the amount of damage she had managed to do to her poor feet. They were battered and bruised, covered with several lacerations that had bled and were filled with dirt. The foolish woman had sprinted all over Boulder without wearing any shoes!

"You can stop making those noises," he heard her say in response to the several tutting sounds that he had made with his tongue as he studied her wounds. "It's not like I intended to destroy my feet."

"All the same," Sasha said, "this is going to hurt."

"Please," she responded with a smile. "You forget that I was an elite gymnast. Compared to some of the pain that I've known, this is nothing."

"We'll see about that," Sasha chuckled.

Carefully so as not to hurt her, Sasha wet a wad of gauze with the water and began to wash her feet, taking care to try and remove most of the dirt from the numerous scratches and cuts. Even though she had said that she could handle it, Sasha felt her wince as he dabbed at a particularly nasty scrape on the bottom of her foot.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"It's not your fault," she replied. "Just talk to me, okay? To keep my mind off it."

"All right," Sasha complied. "I heard that you found a place."

"Yeah," she answered, involuntarily snatching her foot away as he swabbed, but she quickly returned it. "It's just a few miles outside of town."

"Plenty of privacy I bet, right?" Sasha asked.

"Oh yeah," she said. "My nearest neighbor is a mile down the road. It's a gray stone cottage right on the lake with a small dock. It's beautiful."

"When can you move in?"

"Anytime. I'm just waiting for the movers to get here. I set it up so that they would be a few days behind me, leaving me some time to find a place."

"When will they arrive?" Sasha asked as he moved on to her other foot that looked just as bad.

"Day after tomorrow," she answered. "So I guess I'll need that day off."

"That's fine," Sasha responded. "Now that you're staying, you'll have plenty of time to work with Payson and the other gymnasts."

"Yeah, I guess I will," Maddy said as she studied Sasha's face. Unable to stop herself—she was a glutton for punishment after all—she continued, "You know, Summer went with me. She's wicked nice."

Sasha paused for a second as he heard Summer's name, but he quickly resumed washing the blood and dirt from her creamy skin. "Yes," Sasha answered. "She is."

"She told me that you're dating," Maddy said matter-of-factly.

Sasha put down the gauze and water bottle, wishing that they weren't having this conversation. He looked back up at her and smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Yes, we are. It's only been a few weeks, though."

"She's very happy," Maddy continued, trying to seem as if she were unaffected to hear that Summer and Sasha were an item.

Sasha blinked, studying her face carefully and not liking what he saw there. She was looking at him as if she didn't care that he and Summer were dating, proving that he had been right in thinking that she didn't feel anything for him. Wanting nothing more than to change the subject, he picked up the bottle of peroxide and warned, "This will sting."

Closing her eyes, Maddy reclined into the couch again and said, "Just do it."

Ten minutes later, Sasha pressed the last piece of tape down, making the gauze wrapped around her feet stick fast. "There," he said triumphantly. "All done."

Blushing, Maddy met his eyes quickly and said, "Thanks."

"Not a problem," Sasha responded.

She made to stand, but Sasha pressed her firmly back onto the couch. "Wait here," he said. Smiling, he continued, "I have something for you."

He leapt to his feet and disappeared from his office, returning moments later. Jokingly, he produced her white flats from behind his back and said sarcastically, "I know that this will probably seem odd to you, but most of us wear these things called _shoes_. Why don't you give them a try?"

"Very funny," she said, glaring up at him.

Carefully, he bent and slipped her flats onto her bandaged feet, hoping that he wasn't hurting her.

"I meant it," she said as he leaned back. "When I said thanks. For talking some sense into me earlier, but also for this," she gestured at her feet.

Sasha nodded and offered her a hand, pulling her to her feet as she grasped it firmly. Without releasing her palm and gazing deep into her eyes, Sasha couldn't help himself and he stepped closer. Seriously, he said to her, "I think that it's time you stopped running."

Looking away from his face, Maddy decided to respond to his seriousness with a joke, "Yeah, before I really hurt myself."

"That's not what I meant," Sasha said in a low voice.

Maddy met his eyes again and nodded, "I know."

"You should put down some roots," Sasha suggested. "Boulder is a nice place to settle down."

Maddy rolled her eyes and laughed. "Said the man living in a trailer in a parking lot," she challenged, raising a shapely eyebrow.

Sasha laughed back at her and released her hand. "I'm working on it," he responded and he turned to walk away, completely surprised when he felt her cold fingers encircle his forearm.

Turning him back to face her, she looked up at him, all hint of her previous playfulness gone from her face as she said, "Me too."

Sasha smiled and she let go of him, bending to help him clean up the mess that they had made. When they had finished, Maddy ran a hand through her hair and shrugged, saying, "All right. I guess that I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay," Sasha responded, disappointed to see that she was leaving. "See you tomorrow."

Maddy was already at the foot of the stairs when Sasha felt a burning question within him, a matter which they had not yet resolved. Rushing from his office, he gripped the banister at the top of the stairs and yelled, "Wait!"

She turned back to look at him, a questioning expression upon her face.

Shrugging, Sasha confessed, "I don't know what to call you."

"What?" Maddy asked confused.

Sasha began to descend the stairs and said, "Do I call you Coach Reynolds? Madelyn? Maddy?" Sasha shrugged again. "You never told me."

She laughed. "Maddy. Most definitely," she finally said.

Sasha nodded. "See you tomorrow, Maddy," he said with a smile.

"Good night, Belov," she replied, turning back around and walking out of the gym into the night.

* * *

Two days later, Sasha found himself driving in his truck on the road that led out of town, trying to ignore the bickering gymnasts in his backseat. It was a few hours before noon, but Sasha had convinced several people from the Rock to go to Maddy's new place and help her move into the cottage.

_Maddy_. Sasha couldn't help but smile as he remembered her expression from the other night when she had asked him to call her by her nickname. It was a foolish thing to be happy about, but it seemed like a big step. Almost as if she were letting him in.

He hadn't been able to stop thinking about their time together the other night. He had replayed it so many times in his head that he felt as though he had dreamt the whole encounter. Had he actually stared deeply into her eyes? Had he actually convinced her to stay? And most importantly—in his mind anyway—had he actually held her in his arms?

He perpetually felt the impression of her warm, lithe body pressed into the skin of his arms and chest. His neck tingled as he remembered the way that she had looped her arms around him as he carried her inside the gym. Her hair still tickled his arm and her scent pervaded his senses. Back when he had first met her, he had thought of touching her, of holding her close, but he had never actually believed he ever would. And he knew now that he probably never would again.

His good mood disappeared as a knot formed in his stomach. He cared for Summer, he truly did, but he was also beginning to care for Maddy, a woman whom he barely knew. Following their conversation the other night, Sasha's respect for and amazement with her had only grown. Of course, it had also brought up several questions, but he knew that he would never be able to ask them without pushing her totally away from him.

Sasha was besotted…but it was for the wrong woman. A woman that he knew wasn't interested in him. She had proven it on several occasions by offering her congratulations at hearing about Summer and Sasha's relationship and also by her general dismissive demeanor. No, he knew that he could not have Maddy—it wouldn't be exactly professional anyway—and so he forced his thoughts to linger on Summer.

A few unsuccessful minutes later, Sasha turned into a driveway lined with trees and was greeted with a sight of a beautiful stone cottage with white trim and shutters. There was a white wraparound porch adorned with several chairs and rocking chairs and flower boxes filled with small yellow flowers perched on the window sills. There was a small shed to the left with its doors thrown wide and a moving truck was backed up to the front porch.

Sasha parked the truck near the shed and turned to see that Kim and Chloe Kmetko had parked wherever they could find empty spaces. He heard the roar of a motorcycle and smiled as he saw Austin Tucker park his bike and remove his helmet, gazing around interested at the surrounding area.

Sasha and three of the male gymnasts, including Carter Anderson, climbed down from the cab of his truck and he saw that Payson, her younger sister Becca, and two of the other female gymnasts appeared from Kim Keeler's car. Glancing over at the Kmetko's vehicle, Emily, Chloe, and even Brian emerged, looking around at the beautiful scenery in appreciation.

They all formed a large group on Maddy's front lawn and began to move towards the porch steps when Maddy herself appeared from the front doorway, followed by two movers. She was wearing a lilac scoop neck sweater with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows and the neck dropped down over her shoulder. A pair of jeans perched low on her hips with a large hole torn in one of the knees and the hems were rolled up to a few inches above her ankles. Her feet sported the same black Chucks that Sasha had seen her wear first night in Boulder and her brilliant red hair was piled into a messy bun on top of her head, but several tendrils had escaped and now framed her face.

She was speaking with the movers over her shoulder and as she turned around and spotted most of the Rock's patrons on her lawn, she stopped still in surprise. Sasha was pleased to see that a beaming smile instantly appeared on her face and she bounded excitedly down the stairs, asking, "What are you all doing here?"

Kim Keeler stepped forward, holding several plastic bags, and said, "We came to help you settle in."

"_And_ to have a little party afterwards," Chloe chimed in, also holding up the many plastic bags that she gripped in her hands.

"Thanks you guys," Maddy said appreciatively and she stepped forward to give Kim a quick hug and then looped her arm around Chloe's. "Come on, I'll give you a quick tour," she said happily, leading Chloe by the arm up the stairs of the porch.

As Sasha followed them, he couldn't manage to squelch that little part of him that was upset she hadn't seemed to notice him, but he forced himself to push it aside as he entered Maddy's new living space that was several times more luxurious than his Airstream.

As he stepped in the front door, he was met with a wide, open space with gleaming hardwood floors that led to a small hallway in the back. In the northeast corner, there was a counter and several gleaming appliances that designated it the kitchen and French double doors opened onto the porch. To the right, another set of glass doors led to the porch and the small hallway led to what Sasha assumed was a bedroom and bathroom.

Several boxes already graced the floor, but, looking behind him, Sasha could tell that the moving van was still quite full. As Sasha watched Maddy gleefully show the girls around the house, he grabbed the four guys and returned back outside, removing his jacket and hanging it over the rail as he pushed up his sleeves.

A few minutes later, Sasha and Carter gently set down a light brown leather couch and he straightened up, surprised when he heard, "There you are!"

He brushed his hands on the back of his jeans and turned around, taking a deep breath. Just as he had thought, Maddy was walking towards him, pushing her sleeve back up since it had fallen down to her wrist. "I thought that I saw you earlier, but I couldn't find you!" she exclaimed breathlessly.

"I didn't want to interrupt 'girl time'," Sasha responded playfully.

Maddy laughed melodiously and then gestured around her. "So what do you think of my roots?" she asked, alluding to the conversation they had had after Sasha had bandaged her feet.

"It's very nice," Sasha replied.

"What did you think of the view?" she asked imploringly.

Not sure what she meant, Sasha opened his mouth to ask, but Maddy seemed to understand that he had no clue what she was talking about. "You missed the best part!" she exclaimed, rolling her eyes and quickly grabbing his hand.

As she towed him toward the back hallway, Sasha had to remind himself continuously not to turn his hand slightly and entwine his fingers with hers. Instead, he jogged along behind her as she turned right into a white-walled bedroom that already contained a queen-sized bed. She headed for another pair of French double doors, opening them and walking out onto the porch at the back side of the house. She leaped down the few stairs to her backyard, releasing Sasha's hand as she jogged the twenty feet to stand upon a wooden dock.

Sasha stopped at the base of the stairs, missing the feel of her hand in his, and he watched her as she playfully held her hands out to her sides, gesturing all around her.

"So," she called, "What do you think?"

"It's beautiful," Sasha yelled back.

And it truly was. She stood at the beginning of a weathered wooden dock that jetted out about twenty feet into a lake. In the distance, he could see the green tree line on the opposite shore and the mountains that rose into the sky far away. The view was breathtaking, but he couldn't help thinking that the redhead standing before him enhanced its beauty.

She walked back up to him. "It almost feels like home," she confided, laughing as she continued, "If I ignore those huge mountains!"

"You get used to it," Sasha reassured her as they climbed the stairs back up to the porch. As they began to walk around the house by way of the porch, Maddy looked back up at him.

"Thanks for coming," she said quietly.

"It was Chloe's idea actually," Sasha replied.

"All the same," she ceded, "You didn't have to come or bring any of the gymnasts. It means a lot to me that you did."

Shrugging, Sasha tried to fight a blush and said, "You're part of the Rock now."

"Yeah, I guess that I am," she said thoughtfully as they rounded the last corner, bringing them back to the front of the house. "Please be careful with that!" she suddenly yelled and Sasha looked up to see the two movers attempting to carry a large black piano into the house. Maddy ran up to them and possessively laid a hand upon it, saying, "It's quite old."

Following the movers and Maddy inside, he stood next to her as she directed the two men where to put it. Pulling a rag from her back pocket, she began to brush it off lovingly when the movers had returned outside.

"Do you play?" Sasha asked curiously.

She nodded wordlessly, lifting the cover and revealing pearly white keys underneath. She ran her hand over them and smiled, "My mother taught me. Before she died."

Before he could respond, she put the cover back down and exhaled loudly. "Well," she said, "I suppose that I'd better get back to work."

She smiled up at him and dashed back to the front door, disappearing from Sasha's view once again.

Several hours later, music was pumping from the speakers inside Maddy's house and everyone who had helped move her into her new house was strewed across the backyard, socializing with cups and plates in their hands. Dusk was falling and the party was winding down.

Maddy was holding a billowing, black garbage bag and filling it with the various red, plastic cups and paper plates that had been piled onto the porch as she heard the screams of the kids playing in the lake. The cottage was a great place to have parties and get-togethers; she would have to host another one sometime soon. Maybe get a few water toys, a jet-ski perhaps.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she never had a chance.

As she straightened up and pushed her bangs back from her face, Maddy felt strong arms grab her around the middle and ankles, lifting her high into the air. Shrieking in surprise, she looked down to see huge, beaming grins on the two goons that carried her down off the porch and towards the water: Austin Tucker and Carter Anderson.

As their intention became apparent, Maddy began to wriggle, hoping to free herself, but their grips were too tight and their determination was too strong. When they reached the end of the dock, Maddy had just enough time to take a deep breath before she was thrown flying into the air and splashed into the warm lake loudly, limbs flailing.

Maddy sank a few feet and then kicked her strong legs, powering herself back to the surface. Breaking through the water into the air, Maddy began to tread water, using a hand to push her soaked bangs out of her eyes. Wearing a bemused smile, she looked up to see both Carter and Austin still standing on the edge of the dock, their arms folded across their chests and their stances wide.

Thoughtfully, Austin turned to Carter and asked sarcastically, "And how would you score that dismount, Mr. Anderson?"

"Well," Carter mused, "since she was unable to stick it, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to give it a 6.5."

Austin whistled lowly. Holding a fist in front of his mouth and pretending that it was a microphone, Austin began to talk with a sportscaster's voice, "Maddy Reynolds. You've just received the lowest score of your career. Tell us, what will you do now?"

Austin bent and held his hand out for Maddy to speak into and she leaned forward and growled, "Stick this!" as she quickly grabbed hold of Austin's hand and gave it a hard tug, pulling him into the lake beside her.

As Austin spluttered to the surface, Maddy looked up to see that Carter was bent over double, laughing so hard that he began to wipe tears from his eyes. It was at that moment that his mouth opened and let out a gasp as Sasha snuck up behind him and pushed him into the lake.

Smiling, Sasha held out a hand to Maddy and she swam towards it, gripping it firmly. Pulling gently, Sasha lifted her from the water and helped set her atop the dock.

"Thank you," she said to him as she began to wring out the hem of her sweater.

"Oh, I wouldn't thank me just yet," Sasha responded with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know what those two were thinking. I wouldn't have given that atrocious dismount higher than a 4.5."

Scoffing playfully, Maddy suddenly raised her hands and gave a strong shove to his chest, knocking him off the edge of the dock into the water with a loud smack. Without waiting for him to resurface, she huffed satisfactorily and spun on her heel, returning to her lawn.

Wordlessly, she accepted a towel from a grinning Kim and turned to see the three boys sloshing back up the dock, shaking their heads to dispel the water from their hair. Carter led the way, followed by a good-humored Austin, and Sasha brought up the rear, squeezing water from his sleeves.

Kim walked forward and handed her last two remaining towels to Carter and Austin, but then she turned back to Maddy, asking, "Do you have any more towels stashed away someplace?"

Maddy nodded. "Yeah, there should be. Give me a minute."

She turned back toward the porch and climbed the steps, kicking off her soaked sneakers and socks before opening the door and walking inside, rushing quickly across the hardwood floor so as not to drip on it. She proceeded into her living room area where several unpacked boxes remained and began to paw through them, looking for the remainder of her bath supplies.

"Aha," she breathed as she found the towels, snapping her head up when she heard the French doors to her right open and Sasha stepped inside.

Straightening up, Maddy placed a hand on her hip and smiled. "You know, I'm not sure you deserve this," she said playfully, holding up the light blue towel. "Your dismount wasn't much better than mine."

Sasha chuckled. "At least I didn't shriek like a little girl," he retorted.

She chucked the towel at his approaching chest and countered, "I did _not_ shriek!"

Sasha held his hands out in surrender, responding, "If you say so."

Shaking her head, Maddy reached a hand up and removed the elastic from her hair, letting it tumble down to her shoulders in wet ropes. Gathering it to one side, she began to dry it with the towel as Sasha watched, an unfathomable expression in his eyes. If Maddy hadn't known any better, she would have said that it was a mix of affection and yearning.

Clearing her throat and breaking eye contact, Maddy obliterated the moment. "It's a shame that Summer couldn't make it today," she said.

Sasha flinched at the mention of Summer's name and he shook his head quickly, as if trying to dispel his previous thoughts. "Yes," he responded curtly. "She wanted to, but someone needed to stay at the Rock and she had some work to do."

"I understand," Maddy replied, gesturing to a beautiful bouquet of colorful flowers. "Kim gave me her house-warming gift."

Sasha nodded and they stood in silence for a long, awkward moment. Sasha exhaled heavily and then took a deep breath as if he was about to say something that had been on his mind, but the door opened and Payson popped her head inside.

"We're getting ready to leave," she informed them.

"Right," Maddy acknowledged, grateful for Payson's intrusion. She snuck past Sasha, being careful not to touch him or look into his eyes, and joined Payson on the porch outside.

Ten minutes later, after having said her good-byes and thanking everyone once again, Maddy stood alone on her porch with her arms wrapped around herself, watching the taillights of Sasha's truck turn left and disappear from sight. As she turned to go back inside and change out of her wet clothes, she couldn't help wondering about what Sasha had started to say, but she also couldn't help feeling relieved that he hadn't said it.

Maddy felt a light breeze blow against her wet cheeks. She felt change in the air, but Maddy feared that it wasn't all for the best.

* * *

**Review? I mean, I know that _I _would appreciate it...**

**:)**


	7. Q & A

**All right, guys. Here is a long chapter (the longest that I've ever written).**

**Big thank-yous go out to _cp6, wrong. perfection, and LizaGirl_ for reviewing my story! You guys made me smile. Oh, and LizaGirl, Lauren will be redeemed (you're right, she's not always evil)! I wouldn't have made her so obnoxious otherwise. But, just for you, I've begun that redemption a little early :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Maddy.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Q & A**

There are days when you are just simply cursed from the moment you wake up. Days when it's safer and more productive to just stay in bed reading a book or listening to some music.

Unfortunately, you can't know when those days will be. They just sort of surprise you, jumping out at you when it's least convenient and always in such a way to maximize your embarrassment when things go wrong.

If Maddy had known that morning that today would be one of _those_ days, she would have wrapped herself in bubble wrap and barricaded herself in her bedroom. But, of course, she was not omniscient and it had been too long since she had been screwed by the universe.

She was due.

It began harmlessly enough, starting with the failure of her alarm clock to wake her and so Maddy scrambled out of bed an hour later than she had intended. In her rush to towel dry and hop out of the shower, she slipped on the wet tile, catching her foot on the edge of the tub, and managed fortunately to catch herself from completely wiping out on the bathroom floor. _Unfortunately,_ she had instead lightly cracked her head against the corner of the bathroom counter, resulting in a shallow gash on her forehead.

Thirty minutes and a rather large, unattractive band-aid later, Maddy was on her way to the gym, driving slightly faster than the speed limit allowed. Being _one of those days_, it was not long before Maddy saw the blue lights flashing in her rear view mirror and as she pulled over, she reached into the glove box for her registration. Exhaling exasperatedly, she rubbed her face roughly with her hands and forced herself to remain calm when the piece of paper proved elusive.

Hearing a tap on her window, Maddy jumped and turned her attention to the cop at her side. Rolling the window down quickly, Maddy smiled contritely, removed her sunglasses, and said, "Hello, Officer."

The officer grimaced in response and asked, "Are you okay, ma'am?"

Frowning confusedly, Maddy answered, "Yes, I'm fine. H-How are you?"

The cop frowned and looked at the ground. "Ma'am," he began hesitantly, "This may seem forward, but…may I ask how you received the black eye?"

"The _what_ now?" Maddy exclaimed as she quickly pulled down the visor, groaning loudly when she saw that she did, indeed, have the beginnings of a brilliant black eye. Turning back to the cop, she smiled embarrassedly and confessed, "I tripped this morning."

Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, the cop continued, "Ma'am, if you are having problems at home—"

As Maddy realized that the cop thought that she was being abused, she quickly inserted, "Oh god, no! I assure you, Officer, this," she gestured to her battered face, "is totally my own doing."

Seeing that the cop was still skeptical, she explained clearly, "I just moved here a few days ago. Alone. And I'm not seeing anybody."

Finally, the cop seemed convinced that she was not being used as a punching bag, but instead of brushing off the whole "speeding thing", he of course detained her for another twenty minutes as she scrounged for her registration. The only good thing about the encounter was that she received a warning since she was new to town.

And so it was almost two hours later than usual when Maddy managed to turn into her parking space at the Rock, hurriedly grabbing her bag and leaping from the car, and immediately stepped into a wad of gum on the pavement. Sighing, Maddy couldn't help herself as she pitifully laughed at her awful luck, kicking off her poor Chuck and prying it up from the ground. Holding her head high, Maddy brushed her hair over her shoulder and walked into the Rock, wearing one shoe and a band-aid on her forehead and sporting a purple eye as proudly as she could.

Almost as soon as she stepped into the Rock, Sasha turned toward her, exclaiming, "Where were you? We were starting to worry and you weren't answering your phone."

Maddy threw up her arms in frustration, one hand holding her tote bag and the other her gum-encrusted shoe, and bemoaned, "Great. I forgot my phone, too."

She continued heading toward the office, which included walking past Sasha, and she pinpointed the exact moment that he saw her black eye. She was about five feet away from him and his eyes widened as he did a double take, closing the distance between them quickly. Before he could comment however, Maddy held up a finger and warned, "Don't say a word, Belov."

He sighed and shook his head, but then he stepped even closer, raising his hands and gently using his fingers to turn her head to the side as he inspected the growing bruise. His fingers were cool upon her face and Maddy found herself feeling grateful for her clumsiness since it resulted in Sasha gently caressing her cheek.

But that feeling quickly dissipated as Maddy remembered that Sasha was off limits. Castigating herself brutally, Maddy stepped away from Sasha's lanky body and brushed past him, laying a hand upon the banister of the stairs and climbing a few.

She turned back when she heard Sasha speak jokingly, "Are you always this accident prone?"

Laughing, she replied, "Only on Tuesdays."

"One of these days, you're going to kill yourself if you're not careful," Sasha admonished with a smile.

Maddy laughed in agreement, shrugging and replying, "The way things are going, that's probably going to be today."

She proceeded climbing the stairs, freezing when she heard Sasha ask disbelievingly, "Why are you wearing only one shoe?"

Biting the inside of her cheek, Maddy shook her head as she decided not to answer him, instead walking into the office and wishing—not for the last time that day—that she had simply stayed at home.

* * *

If she had thought that her morning had been bad, Maddy was wholly unprepared for the level of hell that she would reach that afternoon. It had started shortly after the lunch break, when several of the gymnasts took a reprieve from their practice, and, at first, Maddy tried to ignore it.

She didn't even precisely know what _it_ was, but the gymnasts had begun acting strangely, avoiding her gaze and whispering in huddled groups, stopping short when she approached with guilty looks upon their faces.

What she couldn't ignore, however, was the moment that she saw Sasha, Summer, and Kim doing the same thing since the two women had called him into the office a few minutes earlier. Taking action, Maddy strode toward where Sasha was watching Lauren practice on the beam and stopped next to him, also watching as Lauren moved fluidly back and forth across the apparatus.

Quietly and without looking at him, Maddy asked, "What is going on?"

Also not looking at her, Sasha responded, "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" Maddy repeated. "No one will look me in the eye and I get the feeling that people are laughing at me. I mean, I know that I walked in with one shoe this morning and I now have a _Beauty and the Beast_ band-aid on my forehead from one of the kids, but…I thought that we were past that."

Shrugging, Sasha answered, "I'm sure that you're just imagining things." Finally, he turned to look at her and smiled, saying, "The new band-aid is adorable, though."

He turned away from her instantly, his smile fading, and Maddy knew that he was lying. Ignoring all subtlety, she stepped directly in front of him, blocking his view of Lauren and forcing him to meet her gaze. She simply stared at him for several moments and then said quietly, "I'm not stupid."

He sighed, hanging his head, and Maddy heard, "You don't want to know."

Surprised, Maddy spun around abruptly as she realized that the voice she heard was not Sasha's, but Lauren's…and it sounded remotely compassionate.

Confused, Maddy directed her question to the girl who stood on the beam looking down at Maddy with her eyebrows raised in sincerity. "_What_ don't I want to know?" Maddy asked slowly.

Lauren's eyes quickly flicked to Sasha's, but then returned to Maddy's again. "Look," Lauren began as she hopped down from the beam and stood in front of Maddy, "I'll be the first to say that I'm not happy about you coaching here, but the things they're saying are really cruel."

"Cruel?" Maddy repeated, shaking her head. "I don't understand. Who? What things?"

Lauren sighed and jogged over to her duffel bag, retrieving something and then returning to Maddy's side. "Here," she said and offered Maddy her cell phone. "You should see it for yourself."

A knot forming in the pit of her stomach, Maddy fearfully asked in a low voice, "See what?"

Without answering, Lauren reached over and pressed a button on the phone, causing the screen to light up as a video began to play.

The screen faded in from black and revealed a news anchor seated behind a desk featuring the logo of a TV station that Maddy had not heard of before. The anchor neatened some papers as he began to speak, "In sport's news tonight, we bring you some breaking information from the world of gymnastics. Todd Nelson has the story."

The screen switched from the anchor to a young man wearing a gray suit with a blue tie. He was standing outside of a building with gray walls and he stared into the camera as the wind ruffled his light brown hair. "Thank you, Steve," the man apparently named Todd responded. The man shifted and held the microphone closer to his mouth as he continued, "Few fans have been able to forget the disappointing debacle that occurred six years ago at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, when the American favorite, Maddy Reynolds, participated in the gymnastics competitions. She had been the United States' National Champion for the previous two years and had also held the title of World Champion for just as long. All of the United States' hopes for gold rested upon her shoulders, but, due to some disappointing mistakes from her teammates, Maddy was only able to procure the silver medal for her team, despite some of her career's best performances.

"It was in the individual competitions that Maddy truly began to shine, taking home three gold medals for bars, beam, and floor, receiving an almost unheard-of perfect score on her final routine."

The view left the sportscaster and changed to footage from the aforementioned Games, showing the moment when Maddy had received the perfect score on her floor routine. As Maddy stood on the mats in the Rock, looking into the tiny screen of the phone, she couldn't stop the tears from pooling in her eyes. Breathing deeply, she forced herself to keep watching.

The man's voice continued talking over the clip, saying, "It was one of the proudest moments of American gymnastics, the flag was flying and the nation's anthem was playing strongly in honor of Ms. Reynolds' achievements, but then the unthinkable happened. The young gymnast disappeared, abandoning her fellow teammates and embarrassing the country that had supported and respected her for her entire career."

The clip changed to one of the podium in the awards assembly and Maddy shook her head. She saw the familiar footage of the Russian and Chinese second and third place finishers looking around curiously as they held their bouquets and wore their medals. The top tier of the podium was, of course, empty as she herself was missing from it.

The focus of the broadcast returned to Todd as he said, "It was the most confusing moment in gymnastics history, possibly in the history of all sports. Maddy Reynolds had achieved her goals, she had done her countrymen proud, but she did not appear to accept her medals or honor her country.

"The questions immediately abounded and the search began for Ms. Reynolds, but to no avail. Maddy had succeeded in falling down the rabbit hole and she was never heard from again." Todd paused dramatically and looked directly into the camera, saying, "Until now."

Maddy felt the first of her tears fall from her eyes, but she did not wipe it from her cheek as she continued to watch in horror. Todd began walking and soon the gray wall behind him disappeared as he reached the corner and Maddy could see the Rock in the background, complete with the banners for Kaylie and Austin on the façade. She moaned as she realized what was coming, but forced herself to listen.

Todd gestured with his hand toward the gym and said, "This is the lovely town of Boulder, Colorado and this gym, the Rocky Mountain Gymnastics Center, currently boasts having three members of the women's National Team, including National Champion Kaylie Cruz." Todd paused dramatically again, and then finished in a deep voice, saying, "But now, as it houses several of America's favorite female athletes, it also employs America's most hated.

"That's right. Just hours ago, the gymnastics world was rocked by the sudden news that Maddy Reynolds has resurfaced and has agreed to start a career in coaching."

Todd disappeared as a new clip took his place, this one from only three days ago. Maddy saw herself emerge from the front doors of the Rock and tell all the reporters that she had taken the assistant coaching position offered by Sasha.

The clip faded and Todd reappeared, saying, "It has only been a few days since Ms. Reynolds returned to gymnastics, but already dissenters are letting their opinions be known."

Next followed a montage of people who had been stopped in the street and asked what they thought of Maddy and her new coaching position. Maddy braced herself for the worst and she was not disappointed.

The first was a middle-aged women with her blonde hair pulled back into a severe ponytail. "Maddy Reynolds is a disgrace to this sport," she said angrily. "She should never have been allowed back into a gym."

The second was a younger man, wearing a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap, who said, "She should just crawl back under whatever rock she's been hiding under for the past six years and stay there."

The third was an older gentleman who answered, "Before the Olympics, I was proud to say that Maddy Reynolds was the best that the U.S. had to offer. Now I am ashamed that I ever thought those words. This is an outrage."

Another woman said, "Sasha Belov has always been a wild card, but his hiring Maddy Reynolds is taking one step too far. Is she really the sort of person that we want our National Champion to emulate? It is the duty of the National Gymnastics Organization to step in and send her back to wherever she came from before she can contaminate our athletes."

Mercifully, the montage stopped before Maddy began sobbing hysterically as Todd reappeared. "You've heard from outraged fans," Todd began, "but we spoke with someone who knew her on a more basic level, a person with whom she was close and who has the most right to be upset with her: her coach, Timothy Blackwell."

Maddy gasped loudly and almost dropped the phone as her breathing became labored. Again Todd disappeared as a new clip began to play. Her old coach stepped into the frame, looking agitated as he pushed his sunglasses on the top of his head. As soon as he began to speak, Maddy's face went blank and she stopped breathing.

"Maddy was an excellent gymnast who cut her own career short. The gymnastics community was robbed of her talent and artistic vision and would have benefitted greatly from her continued involvement." Blackwell paused as he folded his arms across his chest, continuing, "That being said, I still cannot accept her return as a coach. She has been in seclusion for the past six years and has been nothing but a poor role model for many of the up and coming gymnasts. She was a disgrace to this country, her gym, and me. I have never forgiven her for that inexcusable act." He paused again as he glared into the camera, hate contorting his face into a grimace, "And I never will. Maddy Reynolds, you rot in hell."

The clip returned to Todd, but Maddy could not hear what he said over the roar in her ears. She drew in a deep breath and managed to keep from chucking the phone all the way across the gym and watching it explode against the wall. Keeping her face expressionless so as not to betray her true emotions, Maddy swallowed hard and gently extended her hand to Lauren, staring at the floor blankly.

"Thank you, Lauren," Maddy said quietly as Lauren tentatively accepted her phone.

Still staring at nothing in particular, Maddy began to walk fluidly toward the back door, weaving between the gymnasts who stood rooted to the spot as they watched Maddy's walk of shame with judgmental eyes. Reaching the back door, Maddy pushed it open and stepped out into the sunshine, standing still as she heard the door slam behind.

Alone now, Maddy growled ferociously and her face became unrecognizable in her fury. Thoughtlessly, Maddy made a fist, spinning around quickly and striking the wall with it. Numb to the pain, Maddy sighed heavily and rested her forehead against the wall as her tears sprang from her eyes.

And because it was _still_ one of those days when nothing went right, Sasha chose that exact moment—just when her shoulders had begun to shake heavily with her hysterical sobs—to burst through the back door, pushing so forcefully that it bounced off the wall.

Maddy groaned immediately and began swiping at her cheeks, disposing of the evidence of her disappointment, anger, and betrayal. Sasha began to walk toward her, arms widening in order to envelop her, to protect her, but he stopped abruptly when she raised her hand in objection.

"I'm fine, Belov," she said flatly.

Sasha sighed angrily and reached for her hand because it was, obviously, the one that she had struck the wall with and now several of her knuckles were torn open and bleeding. "Christ, Maddy," Sasha cursed, "You've got to start taking care of yourself. I'm tired of bandaging you up every other day."

"I never asked you to," Maddy growled furiously, pulling her hand forcefully from his prying fingers and turning her back on him as she stalked toward the annex building.

"Maddy—" Sasha called placatingly from behind her, but she cut him off.

"I said that I was fine, Belov, and I meant it," she said firmly, without turning back to face him. Pulling open the door to the annex, she finished, "Don't follow me. I don't want your pity."

Without giving Sasha a chance to respond, Maddy stepped into the dark building and let the door slam behind her, effectively distancing herself from Sasha and the distracting emotions in his eyes.

* * *

Maddy had remained alone in the annex building for almost an hour before she decided that she was calm enough in order to continue her work with Payson. Correctly assuming that Sasha had ordered everyone to respect her privacy, Maddy steeled herself to return to the gym to retrieve the teenager who had mercifully refrained from returning to her coach.

_Coach_. Maddy wasn't able to stop herself from remembering her own.

Timothy Blackwell. He had been the leading elite coach on the eastern coast six years ago, but had disappeared into obscurity along with Maddy. Apparently, he had suffered for her indiscretions, losing his coaching career and getting stuck in the past. He hadn't aged well. Maddy had seen that his normally lean face had become soft and round in his retirement and his bitterness and temper had only been augmented by his years of nonentity.

Maddy had come under his tutelage the summer that she had turned thirteen, when her mother had moved her from their home in Maine to a small city in southern Virginia so that Maddy could pursue her dreams. She had been a young, aspiring gymnast, fascinated by the sport and her own talent, and she had believed that Timothy Blackwell was the person to lead her to the Olympics. Maddy remembered the buoyant happiness she had felt when her mother had agreed to move them to Virginia at her daughter's bidding.

Eleven years later, Maddy sighed as she regretted that decision for the millionth time.

Sure, she had achieved her dreams, but Maddy realized that the price had been too high. Hindsight was always 20/20.

She had lost everything. Her mother had died before she could watch her daughter win gold and Maddy was grateful that she hadn't lived to see the abuse that her daughter had taken. She had been a proud woman, especially of her daughter, and the insults and disrespect with which Maddy's name had become associated would have broken her heart.

It was with thoughts of her mother on her mind that Maddy walked into the gym, distracting herself with other things so that she wouldn't have to bear the pity-filled looks from the Rock's gymnasts. Leaning against the wall of the hallway and looking out onto the floor, Maddy saw Payson trying to use the balance beam as a bar in order to perfect the subtleties of her floor routine. Maddy had so far gone unnoticed, but heads turned to her when she gave a low whistle, calling, "Let's go, Payson."

Payson snapped her head up and Maddy was grateful to see that the young gymnast still looked at Maddy in the same way that she always had. Payson's will and determination still struck Maddy dumb continuously, knowing that only someone who was determined to win would be able to deal with such a stigmatized coach.

Maddy watched as Payson bent down and picked up a small bag at her feet and jogged to reach Maddy's side. Wordlessly, they both turned and walked down the hallway and exited through the back door.

As Maddy walked in front of Payson, she turned when she heard Payson speak. "Sasha asked me to bring this out to you," Payson explained as she held out the black, zippered bag that she held in her hands.

Nodding, Maddy accepted it and Payson disappeared inside the annex building as Maddy unzipped the bag. Inexplicably, Maddy couldn't help feeling irritated at what she found inside.

Sasha had handed Payson a small first aid kit, presumably so that Maddy could bandage her damaged knuckles, which were still covered in dried blood. Shaking her head, Maddy remembered her embarrassment when Sasha had complained about having to bandage her every other day, as if she were an aggravating child who couldn't take care of herself. Color flooded her cheeks and she knew that it was due to equal portions of both shame and anger.

Feeling the need to solidify the relationship that she and Sasha had as co-workers, she pivoted on her heel and returned to the door. She needed to let him know that she wasn't one of his gymnasts, that she wasn't his responsibility.

Pulling open the door, Maddy strode purposefully down the hallway and onto the floor of the main building of the Rock. Keeping her eyes low, Maddy walked along the walls of the gym and climbed the stairs, entering Sasha's office with her head held high.

She saw him sitting behind his desk, holding a pencil in his hand as he made marks on a piece of paper in front of him. Arranging a blank expression on her face, Maddy threw the black bag down onto his desk, consciously using her battered hand so that he could clearly see that she had not used the first aid kit.

When he met her eyes, Maddy said coldly, "I don't need you to take care of me."

He said nothing and, as he continued to stare, Maddy spun on her heel and returned to Payson.

* * *

Sasha was going crazy.

It had been three days since Maddy had deigned to utter even a word to him and the silence was taking its toll on Sasha.

Just when he thought that he had the woman finally figured out, she threw him one _hell_ of a curve ball.

He had understood her silence in the hours after she had thrown the first aid kit back at him. Her pride had been hurt worse than her hand and his attempts to help her had only been seen as pity and obligation. He could even understand her second day of silence because, even though he had only known her a short time, Sasha knew that she was a stubborn woman—despite her protestations that she was otherwise.

Yes, the first and second days of silence he could understand, but it was the third day that Sasha could _not_ understand.

Since 6:00am that day, he had been hoping to get a word from her, trying to convince her to make some sort of sound directed at him, but all he had received were silent nods. And with each nod, his temper had grown.

It was now 8:00pm and Sasha was about to explode with his frustrations. Grabbing his keys, Sasha had every intention of pounding on her door and giving her a piece of his mind.

As he slipped his arms into the sleeves of his light jacket and flicked off his desk lamp, he began to hear one of the most beautiful piano melodies that he had ever heard emanating from the speaker system in the gymnasium. Confused since he thought that everyone had already left for the night, Sasha walked out the door to his office and stood upon the landing of the stairs, all anger dissolving at the sight with which his eyes were met.

The only lights on in the gym were those spotlights that illuminated the floor mat and so Sasha was able to see the gymnast clearly, but she was unable to see him. Silently, Sasha descended the staircase and made his way over to the floor, staring entranced at the spectacle before him with his hands in his pockets.

Maddy glided over the springboard, wearing a long-sleeved black leotard with a plum ribbon tied around her ribcage so that it fluttered in her wake as she moved. Her hair did the same as it was unbound and Sasha was spellbound by the brilliance of the color resulting from the direct light of the spotlights. He felt the music swelling through him and the tune itself inspired feelings of deep sadness and regret. The movement of Maddy's long arms and graceful legs served to supplement the music, using her body to turn the melody into a picture. As she set herself up in the corner of the floor mat, Sasha watched as she performed a flawless tumbling pass, but he was shocked to feel a twinge of anger from her movements. Somehow—and it was baffling to Sasha—Maddy was channeling both burning anger and debilitating despair simultaneously.

Minutes later, the music ended on a wavering note and Sasha realized that tears had come to his eyes, that Maddy's sadness had become his own. He was unable to take his eyes off her, unable to move as he stood rooted to his spot.

Considering their previous encounters, he shouldn't have been surprised when she began to speak to him, but he was. She had once told him that she could feel her audience, after all.

Kneeling down on the mat, Maddy sat up and pushed her long hair from her face, turning her body so that she faced Sasha, where he was standing a few feet away, hidden in the shadows. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "About what I said," she paused as she shrugged and gave a small smile, "or what I didn't say."

Stepping into the light, Sasha extended a hand down to her, which she took with a gentle grip as he pulled her to her feet. Releasing her hand, Sasha returned his own back to his pocket. "Why didn't you?" he asked.

Maddy rubbed the back of her neck. "Because I'm a stubborn woman," she confessed with a sigh, smiling up at him as she confirmed what he had always known to be true, but she had never admitted.

"I told you so," Sasha gloated, but without smiling.

"Yeah, yeah," Maddy waved her hand. She blinked a few times and began to answer Sasha's unasked questions. "Six years ago," she breathed, "I was humiliated. But as the years passed and I was able to blend in, I forgot the potency of that humiliation. I forgot how strong it was." She sighed as she rubbed her forehead, "When I decided to stay at the Rock, I was prepared for the animosity, for the blame, but I wasn't ready for the pity or the embarrassment."

"And that's what you feel?" Sasha asked.

"Not until three days ago," Maddy answered honestly. "Not until you."

"Me?" Sasha repeated incredulously.

Maddy nodded, looking up into his eyes for the first time. "You're Sasha Belov," Maddy began to explain. "You were my role model for years, one of my favorite gymnasts. And I couldn't help feeling like you were disappointed in me. That you expected more of me than what you were seeing."

"Why would you feel that way?" Sasha asked disbelievingly.

"You've seen the worst parts of me. I mean, I ran off without any shoes," Maddy answered simply. Laughing self-deprecatingly, she continued, "I gave myself a black eye. Hell, I _punched_ a _wall_." She looked up at him with a humorless smile, asking, "Who does that?"

In response, Sasha pulled his left hand out of his pocket and held it before her eyes for her inspection. He watched as her eyes widened and heard her gasp as she gently enfolded his hand in her own. Carefully, she ran her thumb over his knuckles that had been broken open only a few hours ago. Looking up at him, she asked him the question with her eyes.

"I was upset," Sasha said as he explained why _he_ had punched a wall earlier that day.

"Why?" Maddy asked questioningly.

"There were many reasons," Sasha responded. "Not the least of which was that your old coach told you to 'rot in hell'." Sasha's expression became murderous as he finished, "I would rather have hit _him _than that wall."

"You're not the only one," Maddy responded with a chuckle. Growing serious, Maddy asked, "What were the other reasons?"

Sasha studied her face intently before answering. "I thought that you were leaving the Rock," Sasha said softly, an expression of sadness on his face. "I thought that I had pushed you away by treating you like a child, like just another one of my gymnasts."

"Stop," Maddy ordered with a frown. "You weren't treating me like a child and you weren't doing it out of pity. You were being kind. I'd just forgotten what that felt like."

"Still—" Sasha tried to continue.

"No," she interrupted adamantly, looking deeply into his eyes. "You did nothing wrong, Belov."

Blinking thoughtfully, Sasha allowed himself to study the young woman before him. Her gray eyes searched his intently and her cheeks were pink from the exertion of her dance. Her chest still heaved slightly as she drew breath and her alabaster skin gleamed in the light. Her pale pink lips were turned up into a small smile and her face was an odd mix of beauty and bruises as he studied the yellowing edges of her black eye and the healing cut on her forehead. Finally, he examined her long red hair as it tumbled in waves down to her waist and he suddenly had to physically stop his hand from raising and satisfying the urge to tangle his fingers in it. He longed to pull her close to his body and touch his lips to hers in a scorching kiss, but he managed at the last second to control himself.

She had made it perfectly clear already that she didn't think of him in that way.

Shaking his head, he asked the first thing that came to his empty mind as he brushed past her, walking toward the stereo, "What was that music you were listening to?"

"Oh, um," Maddy responded in surprise. "It was just something I came across. I don't remember who it is."

Sasha reached the stereo and hit the eject button, grabbing the disk as it popped out from the tray. As he took it, Maddy jogged over to him, trying to reach the disk before Sasha could, and he frowned as he looked down at it. The disk that he held in his hands was one of those blank ones that music could be burnt onto, but instead of labeling it with the artist's name or the name of the tracks as was common, Maddy had written the words: "Two Months and Seventeen Days After the Olympics."

Sasha turned to her, a quizzical expression on his face, but, seeing the apprehensive look on Maddy's, he wisely decided not to press the issue. Smiling at her, he asked, "Have you eaten anything yet?"

Sasha could see the shock in her eyes and then the grateful smile as she answered, "No."

Sasha shrugged and handed her the disk. "Well," he began, "I don't have much to offer you, but I have a box of Raisin Bran that is just calling our names."

Maddy laughed and nodded. "Sounds delicious," she agreed.

Sasha smiled, happy that she had consented to spend more time with him. "Great," he said honestly. "Shall we?" he asked as he gestured for her to go ahead of him.

Maddy nodded and led the way over to her duffel bag, pulling a pair of black, athletic shorts from it and stepping into them. The elastic snapped against her hips and then she slipped her feet into her flats, lifting her bag onto her shoulder as she and Sasha began to walk out the doors of the Rock.

After locking up behind them, they walked in companionable silence over to Sasha's Airstream. Reaching the table outside of the trailer, Sasha pulled out a chair and gestured for Maddy to have a seat. "I'll be right back," Sasha said and pointed to his home. "I'm not sure that we could both fit in there."

Maddy laughed. "Sure we could. But it would be a tight fit and I'm afraid that you would have to clean me up once you accidentally gave me a bloody nose or something."

Sasha laughed, grateful for her humor, and opened the door, stepping up into the trailer and flicking the light switches that turned on the outside lights. Grabbing the utensils and the cereal, Sasha quickly returned outside to rejoin Maddy, laying what he held onto the table.

She looked up at him and smiled, saying, "Thanks."

"No problem," he said as he sat down, pouring himself a bowl and watching as she did the same.

They both sat in silence and crunched away, until Maddy frowned pensively and pointed at him with her spoon. "You know," she said. "We spend all this time talking about me, but I don't really know anything about you."

Sasha almost choked on a raisin. "What are you talking about?" he spluttered, wheezing unattractively. "I can count the number of things that I know about you on one hand."

"That's not true," Maddy countered.

Sasha held up a hand, ticking off the information as he went. "You're 24 years old. You are an Olympian. You grew up in Maine. Your middle name is Blake. And you're incredibly stubborn," Sasha paused, holding up five fingers, and then he shrugged. "That's it. That's all I know."

Maddy frowned disbelievingly. "Oh my goodness," she admitted. "You're right."

Getting an idea that he _really_ liked, Sasha suggested, "How about we get to know one another? We can each take turns asking the other a question."

"But," Maddy amended, holding up her spoon again, "we have the option of choosing not to answer."

"Nope," Sasha refused, shaking his head. "What's the point otherwise? You would never answer any of my questions."

She looked uncertain and before she could decide to leave, Sasha caved. "All right," he said. "We each get _one _veto. Deal?"

She nodded once. "Deal," she agreed.

Sasha sat back in his chair and settled in for the duration. His stomach felt like it was filled with hundreds of butterflies. He was sitting at a table with Maddy and he was going to have the opportunity to actually _talk_ with her, to get to know her. _Finally_.

"Who goes first?" Maddy asked with a smile.

Feeling gracious, Sasha replied, "You can."

"All right," Maddy said and she tapped her spoon against the side of the bowl as she thought. "I'll start with something easy." She paused and Sasha braced himself, smiling when she finally asked, "What's your favorite kind of cereal?"

Without a pause, Sasha answered, "Lucky Charms."

The shock on her face was priceless. "You're joking," she said, an incredulous smile spreading across her lips.

"Not even a little bit," Sasha confirmed. "I just _love_ those freaking marshmallows."

"Wow," Maddy exclaimed when she finally stopped laughing. "I never would have guessed that."

"Really?" Sasha asked, curious. "What did you think I would say?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Something healthy and boring, like…Corn Flakes."

"I hate Corn Flakes," he stated firmly, making a face. "Unless they're Frosted Flakes."

Still shaking her head, Maddy mused, "I can't believe that _Sasha Belov_ likes junk cereal."

"You better believe it," Sasha said, laughing. He stared at her for a moment and then said gleefully, "My turn."

"Uh-oh," she shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Go easy on me."

"Never," Sasha confessed. Taking pity on her, he asked, "What's your favorite color?"

Maddy set her bowl on the table and pulled on the tails of the ribbon around her waist, holding the deep plum, velvet cloth out to Sasha. "This," she answered.

Sasha rubbed the ribbon between his fingers and waited for her next question.

Things continued in this way for almost an hour, each learning the other's likes and dislikes. For example, Maddy learned Sasha's favorite color (blue), his age (32), his most embarrassing moment (she was sworn to secrecy), his favorite routine (the rings routine with which he won Olympic gold), and several other interesting things. Then she asked him the question that completely changed the whole mood of the exchange from playful to serious.

"Who's your favorite athlete?"

He blinked twice and rubbed his hand across his mouth. Sighing, he looked her in the eyes and replied quietly, "You were."

Blushing, Maddy couldn't hold his gaze. "What?" she asked.

"You were my favorite athlete," Sasha repeated. "You had everything. Grace, power, charisma. You were a true performer and I loved watching you do what you did best." He paused for a moment, then finished, "I saw you win at the Olympics."

Shocked, she forgot her embarrassment and met his eyes, whispering fearfully, "You were there?"

Sasha nodded slowly and Maddy leaned back in her chair. "It was the best competition that I had ever seen from you," Sasha offered, trying to get her to say something.

Staring at her lap, Maddy replied, "I had never wanted to win more. I gave it everything that I had." She laughed humorlessly, saying, "One last hurrah."

They were silent for a long moment and then Sasha realized that it was his turn to ask her something. Heart pounding, he braced himself to ask the one question that he was dying to learn the answer to. He was going to ask her _the_ question. He was going to ask her why she had walked out on the Olympics. Taking a deep breath, he leaned forward.

Before any words left his lips, however, she spoke over him, pleading. "Don't," she breathed, looking fearfully into his eyes. "Please don't ask me that. You're the only person who's never asked me. And I really like that. About you." She swallowed heavily and continued, "That you don't need to know, I mean. That you can just accept me and forget about my past." She looked back down at her lap, finishing quietly, "I respect you for that more than you will ever know."

Feeling ashamed since he had been planning to ask her that very question, Sasha leaned back in his chair, cleared his throat, and asked instead, "Have you ever told anyone?"

"No," she answered and her voice quavered. "And I don't ever plan to."

Sasha nodded, vowing silently to himself and her that he would never again ask, or even think, that question again. She respected him, _liked _him, and he didn't ever want to do anything to betray that.

Thinking that she would change the subject with her own question, Sasha was surprised when she gritted her teeth and, bouncing her foot up and down nervously, she asked, "Were you disappointed in me?" Pausing, she clarified, "That day. Were you just like everyone else?"

Thinking back to that fateful day six years ago, Sasha frowned as he answered honestly. "I was more worried than anything, I think," he said hesitantly. "I remember sitting there in the stands and wondering where you were, but…I was never angry with you. I remember thinking that something must have happened. Something terrible."

Tears in her eyes, Maddy nodded slowly, trying her hardest to keep from crying because of the unspeakable gratitude and affection she felt for the only person in the world who didn't hate her.

"Next question," she prompted after they had been silent for too long.

Sasha agreed to change the subject, but he knew that the time for easy questions was over. Looking at her intently, he asked her the question that had been on his mind for the last hour. "You lied to me earlier, didn't you?" Sasha pressed, fiddling with his hands in his lap. "And Summer, too."

Her eyes widened and she couldn't meet his gaze.

Undaunted, he continued, "Summer told me about the music that she heard playing in your car that day she helped you find a new place. She said that you told her you couldn't remember the composer…but you do, don't you?" He leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table and guessed, "It was you, wasn't it? _You_ wrote that music."

Sighing, she drew her bottom lip between her teeth. "Do you remember—back when I first met Payson—that I told her every artistic gymnast has music playing within her?" she asked, finally meeting his gaze again.

Sasha nodded.

"Well, that was mine," she confessed. "What you heard earlier and what Summer heard that day, they were…melodies…that played inside of me when I performed. I just took the notes from within my head and put them on paper for everyone else to hear."

Impressed, Sasha asked, "And the label? 'Two Months and Seventeen Days After the Olympics'? What was that?"

Crossing her legs, Maddy licked her lips and answered, "That's the day when I first heard the melody. I created that song two months and seventeen days after the Olympics."

"It was so sad," Sasha breathed. "And so angry."

"That's how I was feeling," Maddy shrugged.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that," Sasha apologized with a lump in his throat. "Alone."

Putting on the strong face that Sasha just now realized was a carefully constructed façade, she said nonchalantly, "I got through it. And I turned out just fine."

Seeing that she wanted to put the hurtful subjects completely behind her, Sasha decided to make a joke. Shrugging his shoulders, he responded hesitantly, "That's debatable."

"Debatable?" she repeated incredulously. Punching his arm lightly, she smiled, "You're such a jerk."

"I try," Sasha responded with a smile.

Maddy laughed and settled back in her chair, pointing her eyes up at the sky as she studied the stars. Technically, it was her turn to ask a question and it was in that moment that she knew the question she longed to ask. The only problem was that she wasn't sure if she could actually go through with it.

Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself and asked, "Are you happy with Summer?"

Sasha had been playing with his spoon in his bowl, staring wistfully at the woman before him, when she asked the question. Totally shocked, he let the spoon fall back into the dish with a loud clanging noise. Grateful that she wasn't looking him in the eye, Sasha rubbed his hands together and answered in the only way that he knew he could.

Quietly, he whispered, "Pass."

Hearing him veto her question, Maddy closed her eyes, knowing that she had gone too far. She began to get nervous as she wondered what was going on in his head. Was he angry? Had she crossed a line? Had her question given her growing feelings for him away?

She expected him to clear his throat and begin taking the dishes away, thereby ending their conversation, so she was wholly unprepared when he asked her just as quietly, "Have you been in any relationships since you left gymnastics?"

His question surprised her so much that she snapped her head down to meet his eyes. He was looking at her intently with an odd expression on his face. If Maddy hadn't known better, she would say that he was apprehensive to hear her response. As if her answer meant everything in the world to him.

Little did she know, that was _exactly_ how Sasha felt.

Breathing shallowly, she gripped the arms of the lawn chair that she was sitting in tightly and whispered, "Pass."

Immediately, Sasha blinked and broke the eye contact, gathering his bowl in his hands and reaching for hers. He stood quickly and turned to go into the trailer as Maddy snatched up the cereal box and milk, following him inside without thinking.

It was strangely intimate inside the trailer. It wasn't nearly as tight a squeeze as they had joked about earlier, but it was definitely a small enough space that each was painfully aware of the other's proximity. Sasha set the bowls gently in the sink, his mind racing. Had he _really_ asked her that question?

When he turned around, he saw Maddy closing the door to the refrigerator once she had put the milk inside. Speaking for the first time since the question, she held up the box of cereal and asked, "Where does this go?"

Sasha moved a step to the left and held open cupboard door. Maddy moved forward and slipped the box into the empty space and Sasha closed the cabinet. Each cursed themselves separately for this act because now they stood inches apart. Sasha looked down at her face and could make out the several light freckles that dotted across her cheeks and her light eyelashes hid her eyes as she couldn't meet his. Sasha's breathing grew shallow and he _knew _that if she were to look up at him right at that moment, he would be helpless. He would enfold her in his arms and let her know what she was beginning to mean to him.

But she didn't look up. Instead, she moved past him, careful not to brush against him in any way, and she stepped outside. Sasha watched through the door as she bent and picked up her bag, laying the strap on top of her shoulder and swinging the bag behind her.

She looked up at him then, and Sasha was surprised at her level of composure. He was still shaking, still wishing that he had kissed her, and she seemed absolutely unaffected!

Feeling foolish, Sasha realized that she looked that way because it was how she _was_. She _was_ unaffected by him.

Desperate to cover his mistake, Sasha bounded down the stairs with a smile on his face. "Well," he said breathlessly. "I guess that I'll see you tomorrow."

Maddy smiled and nodded. "You bet," she replied. "Good night."

"Good night, Maddy," Sasha echoed.

She turned and Sasha watched while she walked to her car, tossed her bag inside, and drove away.

As soon as she was out of sight, Sasha collapsed into his chair and held his head in his hands.

_What_ had just happened? They had been having an excellent time. In fact, Sasha couldn't remember the last time that it had been so easy and fun to just sit and talk with someone. Maddy was vibrant, with plenty of amusing stories—the woman was exceedingly clumsy for one of the world's most accomplished artistic gymnasts—and she had seemed just as engrossed in the stories that he had told as well. They had talked about _cereal_ for Christ's sake and he had had a blast!

Before tonight, Sasha had known that he was attracted to Maddy. She was a beautiful woman after all, and when she performed…well, he'd never seen anything more stunning. But he had never known how attractive her _personality_ was until tonight. She had always seemed closed off and surly before, but Sasha understood now that she was just cautious and slow to trust. She'd had to be after what she'd gone through.

So much had changed in one evening. How could one conversation have such an immense effect on his desires?

But was she feeling the same way about him? Had her feelings changed after tonight? Sasha couldn't be sure. She was extremely difficult to read. There were moments when Sasha thought that she was feeling the same connection that he did and then other moments when he felt like she had put up a solid wall between them.

Confused and not wanting to analyze their conversation anymore, Sasha stood up and crawled into bed, determined to go to sleep. Thirty minutes of thrashing about later, Sasha climbed out of bed, opened his refrigerator, grabbed a beer, and went outside.

Sitting in the darkness, Sasha popped the cap off his beverage and resumed his incessant wondering, all the while clutching the purple ribbon that she had left behind in his fingers.

* * *

**Poor Maddy. She really is clueless, isn't she?**

**Review and let me know what you think!**


	8. House of Cards

**Hey guys, here's another chapter!**

**So, I guess that some of this chapter is just restating some events as they happened on the show, but make sure not to skip them because I've tweaked them a bit!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Maddy. Especially those scenes.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: House of Cards**

Maddy desperately sucked shallow breaths into her lungs, close to hyperventilating as she stood bent double, her hands gripping the wooden bar tightly in her fists. As the first of her boiling tears fell from her eyes, she screamed painfully and her shoulders shook uncontrollably.

How could everything have gone to hell so quickly?

**_SEVEN DAYS EARLIER_**

Emily walked in through the door and saw her brother sitting in the dark, clutching his arm. "What's going on?" she asked concernedly.

Brian shrugged, answering, "Lights are out. A/C's out. The bill is not paid."

"I am so sick of this," Emily growled. "I am so sick of living hand to mouth. I am sick of being embarrassed at the gym and I'm so sick of my mom dating—" she broke off as she looked closely at Brian. "What's… what's wrong?" she asked.

Sighing, Brian replied, "My arm's tingling."

Emily dashed to the counter and grabbed her brother's prescription bottle, turning back to him fearfully as she discovered that it was empty. "Where are your anti-seizure meds?"

Shrugging contritely, Brian said, "I forgot to get them refilled."

"Where's mom?"

"She's at her new job."

Making a decision, Emily walked over to her brother, slipping her arms under his shoulders. "Let's get you on the floor," she said as they both lifted together and laid Brian on the floor, his head resting on a pillow. "Okay, I'm going to go to the pharmacy."

"I know the drill," Brian smiled. "Don't worry."

"Hey, do I look worried?" Emily replied, kissing his forehead. "I'll be right back."

Emily rose from the floor, grabbing her purse and keys, and rushed out the door.

Ten minutes later, she was standing at the pharmacy counter, arguing with the attendant over if Brian's insurance covered the medication.

"Well, the computer is wrong," Emily stated firmly, frantic since she didn't have the money to pay for the prescription herself. "It always covers it."

"Well, why don't you wait until the morning and you can check with your service provider," the man suggested unhelpfully.

Gritting her teeth, Emily responded, "Because my brother is having seizure symptoms _tonight_. He needs his meds."

"I'm sorry," the pharmacist said. "There's nothing that I can do."

Rubbing her forehead, Emily exhaled heavily. "Okay, look," she pressed. "How much for just two pills?"

"The prescription is for twenty," the man answered. "I can't sell you two."

"Come on!" Emily shouted, losing her temper. "Please. I'm desperate."

"I'm sorry," the man said again. "I could lose my job."

"This is ridiculous," Emily muttered. "His medicine is covered. Can you please just go and check again?"

The man sighed, but then he nodded. "Okay," he answered and began typing something in the computer. Frowning, he turned back around to consult a book behind him. "No. No, I'm sorry but I can't help you tonight."

Looking up at the man, Emily did the only thing that she could think to do. She threw down the money that she had, grabbed the pill bottle, and sprinted from the store.

An hour later, Emily apprehensively opened the door to two cops.

"Emily Kmetko?" one of the men asked.

Emily nodded.

"Were you at the pharmacy tonight?" the man inquired.

Emily nodded again.

Looking at his partner, the cop continued, "I'm afraid that you're going to have to come with us."

As they tightened the cuffs onto Emily's wrists, she thought she could hear the sound of her dreams shattering.

* * *

Sasha stood behind the training cam, watching as Payson fluidly moved through the choreography of her routine and silently commending the changes that Maddy had made to the performance. He also marveled at the amount of change and progress that the young gymnast had made and once again he thanked his lucky stars that Maddy had agreed to coach at the Rock.

The music wound down and Sasha watched as Payson lowered herself to the floor.

For a long moment, Sasha couldn't bring himself to say anything. Just a few months ago, he had been terrified that he couldn't be the coach that Payson had needed. On a whim, he had contacted the greatest artistic gymnast that the sports world had ever seen and that desperate move had paid off.

Payson had transformed into a great artistic gymnast.

"That was it," Sasha breathed to Payson, who snapped her head up with a brilliant smile on her face at his praise. "That was it," he repeated as he jogged from behind the camcorder and swept Payson up in an embrace. "That was fantastic. What you just did, the story that you just told…it—it was inspired."

Sasha released his hold on Payson's arms and stepped back, still ecstatic that his crazy idea had worked and that his worrying had been all for naught.

"It's you, Sasha," Payson confessed firmly. "You inspire me."

Sasha was so engrossed in his own thoughts of Maddy and the memory of Payson's routine, that he never saw it coming. Payson stood on her tiptoes and held his face in her warm palms, leaning in against him and pressing a light kiss to his lips.

Shocked, Sasha immediately placed his hands on her hips and pushed strongly, severing all physical contact. As he opened his eyes wide, he saw the utter mortification on Payson's face and he objected, "Payson—"

Before he could say anything else, the young girl shook her head and sprinted away from him, pushing out through the doors and into the night.

* * *

It was the night of the parent's meeting and Summer knew that everything, the whole future of the Rock and Sasha, depended on Kim Keeler. Tonight was the election for the president of the parents' board and she just _had_ to beat Steve Tanner.

As Alex and Ronnie Cruz sat down following their endorsement of Kim, Summer knew that she had it in the bag. No one would vote for Steve when the parents of the National Champion were voting for Kim.

"Would anyone else like to say something?" Summer asked politely, wondering if anyone else wanted to publicly show their support for Kim.

A moment later, Summer wished that she had never uttered those words.

"I would," a voice called from the back, the speaker hidden in the shadows.

As Ellen Beals stepped forward, a chill ran down Summer's spine. This was not going to be good.

"Excuse me, this is Rock business," Summer said coldly. "Your opinion isn't relevant here."

"True," Ellen agreed. "But I do have some information that is relevant to the parents of this gym. About their coach and his inappropriate conduct."

Frowning, Alex Cruz asked loudly, "What exactly do you mean by inappropriate conduct?"

Turning to him, Ellen Beals continued, "I am uncomfortable divulging the details at this time but I will say that I was presented with clear evidence of Sasha Belov engaging in something that was…disturbing. To myself and the national committee."

Kim stepped up to the podium and rested her elbow on it. "If you have evidence of any _real_ misconduct by Sasha," she began firmly, "then I think we, as parents, have a right to know what it is."

Ellen turned to face Kim and said quietly, but still loud enough for everyone to hear, "Mrs. Keeler, I really don't think that you want me to do that."

"Because you don't have anything on Sasha!" Kim countered. "You're just trying to get Steve Tanner elected so that he can get rid of Sasha and you can take control of the Rock."

The parents made several noises that sounded as though they agreed with Kim.

"You leave me no choice. I'm truly sorry to do this publically," Ellen said, though everyone knew that she was not a bit sorry at all, "but, if you need proof, here it is."

She pulled a picture from a manila envelope that she held in her hands and turned it towards the assembled parents. There were several cries of shock and disgust, but as Ellen gleefully turned it to Kim, Kim's face fell.

Snatching the photo, Kim shouted to be heard. "This photo is a misrepresentation," she assured the parents. "I know all about this. It's completely innocent."

Accusingly, Ellen questioned Kim, "You knew about this and you did nothing?"

Kim shrugged, "It was just a crush."

"Just a crush?" Ellen repeated slowly. "So I guess that it's okay for our daughters to kiss their coaches or teachers if it's _just a crush_."

Shaking her head helplessly, Kim shouted, "She's trying to turn this whole thing into something awful—or dirty—and it's just not."

Ellen turned back to the parents and began slandering the Keeler family. "Look," she said, "I understand that there are certain parents who are very invested in their child's success and their ambition might cause them to turn a blind eye. Now is that the kind of parent that you want as the president of your board?"

Having said all that she had needed to say, Ellen faded into the back and let Steve take charge of the meeting and call for the vote. Seeing that she was beaten, Kim turned and sat down quietly in her seat, knowing that Sasha's and Payson's futures had just been destroyed.

* * *

The next day, Maddy bounded into the gym at her normal time, humming a rather cheerful tune as she remembered that World Trials were only three days away and hoping that her goal of having Payson ready to petition the National Committee then would be achievable. She knew that Payson's window of opportunity was closing and that if she really wanted a chance to go to the 2012 Olympic Games, it was imperative that she make this year's World Team.

Climbing the stairs to their office, Maddy bounced into the room and threw her duffel bag on the couch and shed her light jacket. Without looking over, she knew that Sasha was already at his desk and so she called, "Good morning."

Hearing his scoff, Maddy turned in confusion to look at Sasha. Seeing that he was hunched over his desk with his head in his hands, Maddy immediately leapt to her feet and perched on the corner of the desk next to him. "What is it, Belov?" she asked concernedly, fearing the worst.

"I was foolish and blind," Sasha said sadly. "And now I've ruined everything."

Leaning back, Maddy questioned, "What have you done?"

He looked up at her with tortured eyes. "Payson kissed me three nights ago," he answered flatly.

Maddy gasped and jumped from the desk, pacing worriedly in front of him.

"That's not the worst part," he continued.

"What could be worse than that?" Maddy countered quickly, but she stopped short as she realized what could. "Tell me that you didn't enjoy it."

"Oh God, no!" Sasha screamed in disgust. "I stopped her just as soon as it happened."

Maddy nodded, glad to hear that Sasha had not initiated it. Thinking, she realized what had to be wrong. "Then please tell me that no one saw you," she whispered pleadingly.

Looking down at the floor, Sasha shook his head.

Maddy sighed loudly in relief. "Thank goodness," she said. "Now we just need to sit down with Payson and—"

Sasha interrupted her by saying, "The training cam recorded it. And somehow Ellen Beals got ahold of the tape." He looked up at her, close to tears, as he finished, "She showed the parents last night. Steve Tanner is the new president of the board. And I'm finished."

Maddy spun around in distress. Bringing a hand to her mouth, her breathing became shallow as her eyes darted back and forth, trying to find an answer to this dilemma.

"Well, we don't know for sure that Steve will get rid of you," Maddy suggested lamely.

"The parents are having a meeting this morning," Sasha replied. "They're going to suspend me."

Maddy spun back around. "No, they can't!" she yelled. "World Trials are only three days away. You need to coach the girls."

"I suspect that Ellen will tell me not to coach the National Team members, anyway," Sasha countered calmly.

Maddy shook her head. "Then who will coach them?" Maddy asked helplessly as she collapsed onto the black sofa.

Sasha stood from his chair and moved quickly over to Maddy, sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch and taking her hands. "Ellen Beals will volunteer," Sasha assured her, trying to catch her eyes. Once he had, he spoke firmly and gripped her hands tightly, "You must not let her. She will sabotage those girls, especially Emily. They'll fall apart. Maddy," he begged quietly, "you must stand up to her. You must take control of the Rock."

Maddy scoffed and shook her head. "I can't do that," she replied. "Ellen will get rid of me the same way that she got rid of you. Steve and Alex Cruz will never let me coach all of the Rock's gymnasts. Or have you forgotten who I am?"

"I know who you are," Sasha answered quietly. "And that is why I trust you to do this."

Touched by his words, Maddy extricated her cold hands from his and ran them through her hair, sighing heavily. She closed her eyes as she reviewed her options, but she knew that she had no alternatives.

Tapping into her inner strength, Maddy squared her shoulders and raised her chin. Opening her eyes, she looked straight at Sasha and assured him, "Ellen Beals will not enter this gym again until the Trials. I'll kick her out myself."

Sasha smiled. "There's the Maddy that I needed to see," he said.

His smile faded and Maddy was struck by the unfairness of it all. The realization only served to augment her anger and bolster her confidence.

Ellen Beals would not know what hit her.

* * *

Kaylie, Emily, and Lauren stood huddled in a group next to the balance beam. As Payson joined them, Kaylie asked, "What do you think is going on in there?"

Before anyone could answer, they were reproached by a low whistle. Turning, they found that Sasha now stood before them and he said, "Hey. What's going on over there is none of your concern. I need you guys here. World Trials are only three days away and you need to focus."

The girls all nodded, but their attention shifted past Sasha as the parents filed out of the viewing room, their meeting apparently over. Closing his eyes, Sasha exhaled heavily, trying to gather the strength that he would need to face this coming ordeal. When he could postpone it no longer, he spun on his heel and came face to face with Ellen Beals, a smug smirk plastered on her face.

"Belov," she began, "The National Committee doesn't want you to coach any of the National Team girls."

"But we have World Trials," Kaylie interjected quickly. "We need our coach there."

"If you continue to work with Coach Belov," Ellen said, trying to seem contrite, "we will have no choice but to cut you from the team."

The girls exchanged looks, but Ellen's threats were enough to quiet them.

"And as far as the Rock is concerned," Steve Tanner said to Sasha as he stepped forward, "you're suspended until further notice."

"That's not fair!" Payson screamed. "This is all my fault."

"Payson," Sasha scolded. "It's okay. You all need to make the Worlds Team…it's the next step to the Olympics. Nothing else matters. You don't need me for this. All you have to do is follow the rules and stay focused. Understand?"

Each of the four girls in front of him nodded, upset to see their coach beaten. Holding his chin high, Sasha turned back around to face the rest of the people staring at him judgmentally. Squaring his shoulders and standing tall, Sasha strode forward and began to leave the gym. As he was about to pass through the wall of parents, he looked toward the landing outside his office. Maddy stood there, fist clenched around the railing so tightly that Sasha could see her white knuckles from fifteen feet away. Grateful for the fire in her eyes, Sasha nodded once to her, passing the proverbial torch, and received a solemn nod in return. Already, Sasha could see that she was ready for battle and, in that moment, he would have given anything to see the ensuing showdown.

Turning his attention back to his walk of shame, Sasha avoided the gazes of each of the parents as he walked directly through them, pushed open the doors, and left the Rock.

Once the echo of the closing doors had faded, Kaylie asked, "Now what are we going to do? Trials are three days away! Who's going to be our coach?"

Smiling broadly, Ellen Beals stepped forward. "I will," she said triumphantly.

From behind her, every single one of the parents—including Steve Tanner—groaned loudly in disagreement and disappointment.

The gym was silent then, but Ellen continued to beam.

And then a voice rang strongly throughout the gym, echoing off the walls. "Actually, Ms. Beals—" Maddy began as she strode down the stairs, but Ellen cut her off.

"_Coach _Beals," she prompted.

Maddy walked up next to Ellen and smiled coldly down at her, shaking her head clearly. "_Ms. _Beals," Maddy corrected her. Continuing firmly and loudly, Maddy said, "With Sasha gone, the chain of command falls to _me_."

Deciding that Maddy was the better alternative to Ellen Beals, several of the parents agreed, voicing their opinions vehemently and loudly.

Looking uncertainly between the parents and Maddy, who stood tall with her arms folded across her chest in a defiant pose, Ellen squawked, "No."

Maddy smiled and nodded her head. "As assistant coach," Maddy told her, "it is my job to take over when the head coach is absent. And Sasha is absent. So the Rock is _mine_. _Not_ yours."

Ellen spun around to Steve. "Steve," she begged with a smile. "You can't want this…this…_has been_ to coach your daughter! Not when Trials are so close."

Maddy closed the distance between herself and Steve. Whispering so that only he could hear, Maddy said, "Listen. I know that we have had our differences, but right now you must agree that I am the better person to coach these girls. I have experience. I've been where they are now. Please, I can do this." Maddy looked at him beseechingly, finishing, "You can hate me all you want in three days, but I propose a truce out of necessity. What do you say?"

Steve nodded once, seeing the truth in her words. While he may not like Maddy Reynolds, she had worked wonders with Payson and she had been an incredible gymnast in her day—she still was, as a matter of fact—and she _had_ made it to the Olympics when Ellen had not. That and the obvious and unanimous desire of the parents to have Maddy as a coach rather than Ellen swayed Steve's mind.

Looking past Maddy, he spoke to Ellen, "She's right, Ellen. As President of the board, I can say with absolute certainty that in the absence of the head coach, the assistant coach becomes the leading authority in the gym."

Ellen scoffed and shook her head. "The National Committee doesn't want you to coach these girls, either," she said spitefully to Maddy.

Maddy held up a finger. "You know," she replied, "I was worried that you might say that. So I called the Committee this morning and they had no_ legitimate_ reason to ban me from coaching any of the National Team members. So the Committee can't legally stop me and neither can you."

Ellen was speechless and apoplectic with rage. Maddy used her silence as an opportunity to say, "Now, you have spoken on behalf of the Committee about Coach Belov and therefore can have no further reason to stay here at the Rock." Maddy stepped before Ellen and leaned down menacingly to growl, "So get out of my gym."

Making an unintelligible sound of fury, Ellen pushed past Maddy and stalked toward the doors.

"Oh, Ellen," Maddy called out politely. Ellen stopped short and spun back to face Maddy, her face contorted with her rage and embarrassment. Smiling widely, Maddy's eyes were cold as she insulted, "You do realize that if I'm a _has been,_ well then that makes you a _never was_." Maddy gave Ellen a jovial finger wave. "Remember that," she demanded and then turned her back on Ellen, glad when she heard the slam of the doors, signaling that the witch had left.

* * *

As soon as she was able, Maddy pushed open the front door and stepped out into the parking lot. Jogging, she quickly made it over to Sasha's trailer and pounded on his door with her fist loudly.

His face pale, Sasha finally opened his door and stepped out, holding a beer in his hand. Moving over to his table, he took a seat and gestured for Maddy to do the same. Needing to expend her nervous energy, Maddy declined the request and began to pace incessantly back and forth, chewing on her thumbnail.

Taking a swig off his bottle, Sasha asked, "Did you do it?"

Maddy stopped long enough to nod her head. "Ellen will be back with a lynch mob for me later, but she's gone for now."

"What did you say to her?" Sasha questioned, hoping that it was something particularly nasty.

"She offered to coach the girls like you said she would," Maddy answered. "And she clearly thought that Steve would side with her, but I called for a truce between us and he agreed."

"Oh, I bet Ellen didn't like that," Sasha guessed.

Maddy pulled a chair out and flopped down into it. "Nope, not at all," Maddy said. Smiling, Maddy related, "She liked it even less when I told her get out of my gym and called her a 'never was'."

Sasha choked on the sip he had taken, laughing in spite of his foul mood. "You called Ellen Beals a _never was_?" he asked incredulously.

Maddy shrugged with a smile. "Well, she started the name calling first," Maddy defended petulantly. "She called me a 'has been'. I couldn't just let that slide."

"Of course, you couldn't," Sasha agreed, still chuckling and once again wishing that he could have seen it for himself.

Bringing the bottle back to his lips, Sasha took another healthy sip of his beer, trying unsuccessfully to block out the events of the past morning. Hoping to distract himself, he did something that he usually didn't allow himself to do: he allowed himself to watch and _really_ look at Maddy. He allowed himself the chance to think about what their future would be like if he were strong enough to go for it, to put himself on the line and tell her what he felt for her.

Slipping into a daydream, he pictured it being a dark night, the only sounds emanating from a softly playing radio and the surrounding crickets. He saw them sitting at this very table, the only source of light being the candles that adorned the available surfaces, bathing Maddy in a soft glow that would make her hair shine more brightly than the flames. She would pick up her wine glass daintily and take a small sip, blushing as she realized that Sasha was staring at her intently, memorizing the planes of her face and the soft waves of her hair.

"What?" she would ask.

Sasha would just shrug and reply, "You're so beautiful."

Being Maddy, she would roll her eyes, seize his wine glass, and retort, "You're drunk, Belov."

He would chuckle softly and look at her from under his light eyelashes, his blue eyes probing her gray ones, and he would confess, "Since first I met you, I've been unable to stop thinking of you."

And since this was a dream after all, Maddy would remain silent as she gently laid her wine glass back onto the table, lifted her napkin from her lap, and placed it next to her plate. Without any hint of a smile, she would fluidly stand and glide over to his chair, looking down intensely into his eyes as she ran her fingers through his hair. She would gracefully lower herself to his lap, splaying her hands on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her trim waist, pulling her closer. Leaning into him, she would graze his cheek with her fingertips and stare at his lips, whispering as her bosom heaved with anticipation, "Sasha."

Unable to bear the distance, Sasha would tilt his head and touch his lips to hers in a feathery kiss as his heart leapt and practically beat out of his chest…

"Hey," her voice called to him, pulling him abruptly from his daydream. She was smiling and asked, "Where did you go?"

Cursing himself, he shook his head. Honestly, he replied without looking at her, "Someplace I shouldn't have gone."

She frowned, but thankfully didn't press the issue. "All right," she said hesitantly. Shrugging, she finished, "I should probably get back in there. I'm sure that Steve and Alex are throwing a fit."

Sasha nodded slowly, but since he was staring at the ground, her next move took him completely by surprise. He was picking at the label on his beer when he saw her hand enter his field of vision and rest gently on his knee in a purely platonic way. Sucking in a sharp breath at the contact, Sasha nevertheless felt a pleasant shock travel all the way through his body and the warmth of her hand brought all of his daydreams flooding back to him.

"Lookit," she reassured softly. "It's all going to work out." Sasha found the strength to look in her eyes and saw purpose and belief in them. Smiling, she continued, "You're ten times the coach that I could ever hope to be and, I promise you, I will find a way to get you back." Sasha watched as the smile faded from her cheeks and she confessed, "I can't do this without you. I don't know how to."

Following her promise, they both sat in silence, unable to break the eye contact. Sasha felt something pass between them and he almost—almost—came clean with her. But as he took a deep breath to do so, her cheeks flushed pink and she pulled her hand from his knee, the warmth and strength that he had felt disappearing along with it.

Standing, she looked down at him affectionately and begged, "So hang in there. For me, okay?"

Knowing in that moment that he would promise her the world if she asked, Sasha was not surprised when he found himself nodding. "I will," he promised.

She frowned slightly, then said, "I think that you should keep coaching Payson on your own."

"What?" he spluttered in surprise.

"Hear me out," she began. "If you keep your distance, you'll just be admitting that you're ashamed about what they're saying about you. If you move on, if you show them that nothing has changed, then it will prove that you did nothing wrong."

Sasha contemplated what she had suggested. She was right in some ways. If he could convince the Keelers to let him keep coaching Payson—if they presented a united front—then maybe people would believe that nothing had happened. Of course, it also had the potential to blow up in his face.

"I'll think about it," he finally responded.

She smiled, glad that he hadn't refused her proposal outright. "Good," she replied. "I'll catch you later, then."

"Later, then," Sasha repeated and he watched as she walked away, turning away in self-recrimination as he found himself studying the subtle sway of her hips.

* * *

A few minutes after Maddy had left, Sasha looked up and saw that Summer was approaching. Groaning inwardly, he forced himself to stand. Even before he could say a single word, Summer was already off and running.

"I'll make a petition," she suggested, her hands waving wildly. "I'll have the parents sign it and the girls will make a video—"

"Stop," Sasha breathed, holding up a hand as he interrupted her. Giving in to the anger and self-loathing that he had managed to hide from Maddy, Sasha admitted, "The girls are my responsibility. I should know what they're thinking before they do. I should see trouble before it happens," Sasha shrugged as he paused, "but I didn't. I allowed this to happen and it doesn't matter if I was blind or if I simply made an error in judgment. I failed them as a coach and maybe..." Sasha trailed off as he acknowledged his worst fear, especially since Maddy had believed in him so strongly, "maybe I'm not such a good man, after all."

Shaking his head, Sasha brushed past Summer and climbed the steps into his trailer. He counted five seconds before he heard the clack of her heels on the steps and then the door was closed.

"Don't say that," she ordered to his back. "Don't even think that."

Sasha turned around to face her, carefully studying her face as she continued, "I can't stand what they're saying about you, Sasha. You are a good man and an honorable man and a righteous man…and that's why I love you."

Summer stepped forward and placed a hand on either side of his face, pulling him down as she pressed her lips against his. As Sasha closed his eyes, he was assailed by several thoughts. The first was that the sensation of her hands on his cheeks was nowhere as thrilling as when Maddy had placed her hand on his knee. There was no spark from Summer's intimate, familiar touch, but simply brushing against Maddy's arm for a split second always sent an electrifying jolt through him and made him yearn to encircle her in his arms.

The second thing he thought was that the feel of Summer's lips caressing his own did not stir the same feelings as the mere thought of kissing Maddy did. He had once cared for Summer—truly he had—but sometime in the last few weeks, it felt to Sasha as if he had found his other half.

Maddy was terse, blunt, unyielding, and quite often belligerent. She was foolhardy and stubborn beyond belief, but he had discovered that she was kind and warm once he managed to wheedle his way past her tough, spiky outer shell. She was vulnerable and funny, but she was slow to laugh and even slower to truly smile, entrancing Sasha when it actually reached her eyes. She was a woman who had been thoroughly beaten by her circumstances, yet she had allowed Sasha to grow closer to her than anyone else in the last six years. That had to mean something, didn't it? That had to mean that she felt something for him…right?

The third thing that went through Sasha's mind was the realization that Summer's proclamation of love caused a knot to form in the pit of his stomach. As he examined the knot, he realized that it was caused by the knowledge that while Summer loved _him,_ he did not love her. And just like that, a new, terrifying, painful shock electrified him.

He didn't love Summer. No, he loved _Maddy_. And he had no idea when it had happened.

Maybe it had happened the night that they had asked each other twenty questions or maybe it was the moment that he had watched her dance to her own music. Maybe he had fallen in love the moment that she had wrapped her arms around his neck as he held her close to his body or when he had watched spellbound while she and Payson danced together. Laughing inwardly, Sasha had a sneaking suspicion that he had fallen in love with her the moment that he had walked into the gym in Maine…and she had promptly fallen flat onto her face.

_Maybe he had loved her for the last six years_, he thought suddenly_._ _Maybe he had fallen in love with more than just her gymnastics all those years ago._

Flattened by his realization, Sasha forcefully pushed Summer back, gripping her upper arms gently. She frowned up at him, utterly confused, and Sasha released her, spinning away from her as he ran his hands through his hair.

Taking a deep breath, he turned back to her, hating the fear that he saw in her eyes. He had never meant to hurt her…goodness gracious, couldn't he do _anything_ right?

Reaching out and clasping her hand in his own, Sasha forced himself to look her in the eye and say, "I think that you are a truly remarkable woman. You're strong and kind and so good."

"But?" she asked fearfully, already knowing the truth.

"But I don't feel the same way for you as you do for me," Sasha said softly, looking into her eyes beseechingly.

"I don't understand," Summer breathed. "I thought…I thought that you cared for me."

"I did," Sasha replied. "I still do. But only as a friend."

Summer gently pulled her hand from his palm and asked quietly, tears forming in her eyes, "Is it because of my faith? Is it because I wouldn't give myself to you?"

"No!" Sasha objected vehemently. "Your faith is one of the many things that I admire about you. That and your honesty."

"Then be honest with me, Sasha," Summer demanded.

Sighing, Sasha's shoulders sagged as he confessed, "There's someone else."

A shocked look appeared on Summer's face, quickly replaced by one of disgust. "Please tell me that it's not Payson," she ordered.

"No!" Sasha shouted. "How could you even think such a thing?"

Ashamed, Summer shrugged, apologizing, "I'm sorry. You're right. I know that you would never do such a thing, but…I just needed to be sure."

Summer turned around and laid a hand on the door handle, too embarrassed to stand in Sasha's presence any longer as her tears threatened to spill past her eyelashes. Another thought struck her and she turned back to him, stating, "It's Maddy, isn't it."

It wasn't a question, but Sasha found himself nodding.

Summer placed her hands on her hips. "She'll only hurt you, you know," Summer told him. "She's been alone for so long that I don't think she even remembers what it means to love someone. She has a lot of anger and hurt festering inside of her and she won't be able to give her heart to you."

Fearing that Summer spoke the truth, Sasha found himself nodding yet again. "I know that," he admitted sadly. Looking up at Summer hopefully, he said, "But I have to try."

"Then I wish you every happiness," Summer said magnanimously even as the tears fell down her cheeks, too kind for her own good.

Sasha nodded once at her and then she was gone, descending the stairs and closing the door behind her, leaving Sasha alone with his thoughts.

Was Summer right? Did Maddy even know what love was? Had she forgotten how to feel it…how to give it?

Collapsing onto his bed, Sasha bit the inside of his cheek as he answered his own questions.

Yes. Summer was right. Maddy might have accepted his friendship after a few weeks, but it would take her many more to let him in any further. She had felt the sting of betrayal and would not soon forget its sharp pain. She had risked opening her heart enough to let him in as a friend, but he wasn't sure that she was capable of tearing down the walls and allowing him to become her lover.

Raising a hand to cover his eyes, Sasha finally knew the debilitating and crippling pain that came from a broken heart.

* * *

Maddy paced nervously back and forth in front of the chute. Where the _hell_ was Sasha? He was supposed to have been there ten minutes ago so that Payson could perform for the National Committee before they made a final decision on the roster of the World Team.

Sighing, Maddy chalked it up as another disaster in a cataclysmic day.

Not only had Maddy been dodging barbs from Ellen Beals all morning, but the woman had tried taking out her frustrations on Maddy's girls! She had tried to sabotage Emily at every turn and she pointed out every mistake that they made, attributing it to Maddy's "poor coaching".

Rubbing her forehead, Maddy wished fiercely that Ellen Beals had been the worst of her troubles today. After a rather shaky start, Maddy had managed to bolster the girls, to remind them that they knew these routines perfectly, that they had worked toward this day for weeks. She had succeeded in raising their confidence and they had since been dominating the floor, impressing the judges and causing Ellen's face to redden as her anger mounted.

It seemed cruel that just as soon as Maddy had finally gotten them to do something right, everything had fallen apart. Lauren had broken down before her bars routine on account of her mother's death, but by far the worst thing had been when Kaylie had fainted during her beam routine and had needed to be rushed to the hospital.

Even now, the fear and shame made Maddy's knees give out and she had to lean against the wall. She closed her eyes and therefore missed Sasha's grand entrance until she heard Ellen's grating voice.

"Belov," she objected. "Stop right there!"

Sasha ignored her of course and instead strode up to stand directly in front of the judges' table. "I've brought Payson Keeler and, with all due respect, we aren't leaving until you've seen what she can do."

"Stop this!" Ellen ordered the Committee.

Speaking over her, Sasha continued, "In France, you saw Payson Keeler, the power gymnast. Today, I want you to see Payson Keeler, the artistic gymnast."

Meeting Sasha's gaze from across the gym, Maddy nodded and pressed play on the speaker system. Payson's music began to play and the young girl began to rise from the mat, her eyes all business.

"Payson Keeler is not an artistic gymnast," Ellen whispered. "You've seen how much grace she has. This is ridiculous."

"Be quiet, Ellen," one of the judges ordered. "We would like to watch."

Thoroughly cowed, Ellen quieted and turned to watch Payson, a disbelieving frown on her face as she saw the progress and change that Sasha and Maddy had wrought in the young gymnast. From across the floor, Maddy watched with a small smile as Payson hit every mark, pointed every toe, and felt the extensions down deep in her soul. The gymnast _felt_ the music, understood it, and used her limbs to represent the music visually.

As the music came to a close, Maddy's heart soared, knowing that she had succeeded. Payson had performed beautifully and there was no way that the judges would turn her away from the Team, not when she had inspired such emotion so that they were all almost in tears.

A few minutes later, Maddy's suspicions were confirmed as Payson smiled while she slipped on her Team jacket. Looking around, Maddy tried to find Sasha so that she could congratulate him, but he was nowhere to be seen. Also looking around, Maddy noticed that all of the Kmetkos and Emily's boyfriend Damon were missing.

Frowning, she wondered what was going on. Had Sasha and Emily gone somewhere together? No, Sasha would not have let Emily miss the announcement of the Team members, so they had left separately. Pushing Emily from her mind since her family was gone as well, Maddy focused solely upon where Sasha had gone.

He should be immensely proud of Payson. She had made the World Team, after all. She had surmounted all odds and was on track to becoming an Olympian once more, so why the heck wasn't he here?

Playing back the last few days, Maddy thought about the few times that she had seen Sasha. He had been uncharacteristically quiet and unsociable, but Maddy had thought that he just wanted to be alone after his suspension. Understanding his desire for solitude, Maddy had complied, giving him the space that she had thought he needed.

But…what if there was something else going on?

Sucking in a sharp breath, Maddy finally understood.

He considered himself responsible for everyone in his gym. With all that had happened lately—Payson's initial injury, Kaylie's anorexia, the disapproval of the National Committee—he would feel as if he had failed them.

And with his suspension, he would have no reason to stay.

Spinning abruptly on her heels, Maddy ran from the gym, praying that she wasn't too late.

* * *

Sasha bent down and tugged hard on his trailer hitch, checking to make sure that his trailer was tightly secured to his truck. Seeing that it was, he straightened up and turned to walk to the driver's door of the truck when he heard a voice from behind him. Closing his eyes in shame, Sasha slowly rotated around to see the one person that he had hoped would not try to stop him. The one person who, if she begged him to stay, he wasn't sure he could refuse.

As he opened his eyes, he found it hard to breathe as he saw the tears in Maddy's eyes and the fear on her face. Sucking in a shaky breath, she called softly, "Coach Belov, please don't do this."

"I have to," Sasha replied firmly. "It's what's best for them."

He turned to go toward his truck, but Maddy leaped forward, grabbing his arm and forcing him to spin back around to face her. A tear falling from her eyes, she reminded him, "You once stopped me when I was about to abandon them." Releasing his arm, Maddy swiped at the tear on her cheek, finishing, "Let me do the same for you."

Feeling the tears well in his own eyes at the obvious hurt that he was causing her, he made himself state firmly, "You can't. I have to go."

Taking a few steps backward, he was unable to turn away from her, wanting to memorize her features and beauty one last time. As he studied the curve of her cheek and the way her hair rested against her cheekbones, he saw the desperation and anger appear on her face as she asked insistently, "How can it be so easy for you to just walk away?"

Sasha stopped, leaning with both his hands on the bed of his truck as he answered, "Because I know that I'm doing the right thing. I'll only hurt them further if I stay."

Letting his hands fall from the side of his truck, he could only watch as she ran a hand through her hair and placed the other on her hip, turning away from him. Though he could not see her tears, Sasha could tell that she began to weep silently in earnest from the apparent shaking of her shoulders. Unable to bear the knowledge that he had caused her such pain, Sasha felt the pressing and urgent need to leave and leave _now._

Quickly, before he could give into the imminent sobs that had already brought hot, debilitating tears to his eyes, he laid his hand upon his door handle and tensed his muscles as he readied to swing it open. Before he could escape her judgment however, he heard one word—just one—and it pushed him over the emotional edge.

"Sasha," Maddy called.

She hadn't yelled. In fact, she hadn't raised her voice at all, but the authority and raw emotion in her voice was enough to make his numb hand fall from the door handle and slap against his thigh. There was an edge of panic and such a great amount of sorrow in her voice that Sasha felt as though she had stabbed him the heart with a sharp weapon, his pain was so great.

But it wasn't only _how_ she had said what she had that caused his body to freeze—to halt his flight—but it was the _word_ that she had chosen to say. In the weeks that he had known her, that he had come to care for her, she had _never_—not even once—called him by his given name. She had only ever called him "Coach Belov" or simply "Belov". He had dreamt of the day when she would finally call him Sasha, immersing himself in recurring daydreams in which he imagined the intoxicating sound of her lips whispering his name seductively as he drew her in for a gentle kiss.

His dreams shattered as he realized that he was destroying any chance that he had once had to know the taste of her lips or the trace the outline of her body with his hands. Breathing rapid, shallow breaths, Sasha refused to face her, to surrender to her siren's call, because of his shame and heartache.

"If you do this," he heard her say softly behind him, almost as if she were pleading with him, "I will hate you forever."

The first of Sasha's tears fell. His pain was so sharp that he was rooted to the spot, unable to move or speak as the silence stretched on interminably.

"I trusted you!" she screamed at his back, anger distorting her voice from its soft pleading to sharp reproaches. "_They_ trusted you! And now you are betraying us both."

Hearing the anguish in her shaking voice, Sasha spun around and assured her, "I never meant to hurt anyone." He stretched out a hand to her, whispering, "Especially you." He let his hand fall as he remembered the grief that he was causing his other gymnasts, causing him to confess, "But nothing you can say will stop me."

Finding strength from the knowledge that he was doing the right thing for his gymnasts, he managed to turn away from her distressed form and yank open the door, lifting himself inside before her words stopped him again.

"Do you want to know what happened that night?" she yelled at him, taking several steps toward his truck until she gripped the door, not allowing him to close it as her fury made her strong. "At the Olympics? Do you want to know _why_ I ran away?"

Sasha didn't respond, but she continued anyway.

"I trusted _my_ coach, too, like I trusted you," she spat. Disgust contorted her face and colored her words as she continued, "I should have seen it. I should have seen the similarities." She leaned in closer menacingly, speaking quietly, but firmly, "I didn't before, but I do now. You're just like him. A massive disappointment. Not worthy of my trust. What he did was the worst thing that's ever happened to me. It's been six years and I still can't forgive him—I never will—and what you're doing is just as bad. It's not something that I can forgive."

Unable to look at him anymore, she pushed off from the truck, turning her back to him again.

Sasha stepped down from the cab and slammed the door shut behind him, afraid to hear her answer as he asked softly, "What happened that night?"

"I'd just received a perfect score on my floor routine," she said normally, as she wiped the tears from her cheeks and turned to face him, staring at some point in the distance. "I didn't think that it was polite or gracious to celebrate in front of my competitors, especially since some were my teammates, so I went into the chute. I started jumping up and down, screaming as teenage girls are wont to do. I went to give my coach a hug, but imagine my surprise when he kissed me instead."

She turned his face to his, the glare and anger in her eyes so powerful that it should have been able to kill. "I pushed him off, asked him what the hell he was doing, but he only tried to kiss me again. I managed to turn away, but…" she paused for a moment, chuckling humorlessly, "Well, that's when he got angry. He called me a slut and a tease, saying that I had been leading him on for years. I yelled back that he was disgusting and filthy. I told him that I despised him."

She closed the space between them, standing only a foot away from Sasha as she finished, "That's when he backhanded me and then followed it up with a right hook."

Shocked, Sasha gasped, "Maddy—"

"Don't," she said firmly, holding up a hand. "I don't want your sympathy."

She turned her back on him and strode a few steps away, continuing, "I remember sitting there, alone on the floor, tears running down my face as they called my name over and over. I begged someone—anyone—to come along, but I was all alone. It should have been the single, most amazing moment of my life. It had been my life's dream to become an Olympic gold medalist…and I couldn't go out there. I couldn't do it." She paused and looked at him, fresh tears falling down her cheeks as she confessed, "I couldn't go out there and accept my medals with a split lip and a black eye."

Wanting to say something, Sasha tried to apologize for Timothy Blackwell's actions, "I'm so—"

She cut him off as she said, "You know, I honestly thought it would be better. I thought that _not_ going out there would be less embarrassing. And so I chose not to. I wasn't about to let that man's betrayal taint the greatest moment of my life. I _wouldn't._ I thought that it would be better. Easier. Less gossip-worthy." She laughed self-deprecatingly and turned her whole body to face him, "I was wrong. Just like I was wrong about him and—if you leave?—just like I was wrong about you."

She turned back to him, arms folded across her chest, as she glared at him.

Squirming under her gaze, Sasha whispered, "I can't stay."

Maddy nodded and pursed her lips, finally understanding and giving up her fight. She walked up to him and stopped at his shoulder, looking up into his eyes as she stated forcefully, "Then I don't ever want see you again."

Without waiting for his response, Maddy brushed past him and started to walk back to the Rock.

Suddenly, all the fear that Sasha had felt before—all the things that had stopped him from telling her about his feelings—paled in comparison to the desperation he felt at that moment. The woman that he cared deeply for was walking away and he needed her to know the truth, to understand.

"Maddy, I love you!" he screamed pleadingly at her back. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Sasha saw her stop short with a jerk. She stood still for a few seconds and then slowly turned around. The amount of malice and hatred on her face struck Sasha like a physical blow and he took a step back from its intensity.

Her body shook with anger as she condemned, "You're a coward. You're a coward and you're a selfish prick." Shaking her head in incredulous disbelief, Maddy asked, "How can you possibly think that I would love someone like you?"

Sasha was unable to breathe. Collapsing against his truck, he was powerless to say or do anything, affording him a clear view of the woman he loved walking out of his life.

Forever.

* * *

**_PRESENT_**

Maddy clutched the bar in the annex as though it were a lifeline, as if it were the only thing keeping her afloat.

Sasha had left. He had abandoned her. He had _betrayed_ her. The one thing that she had been _certain_ he would never do.

She had believed with her heart and soul that Sasha was a good man, that he was the antithesis to Timothy Blackwell. How was it possible that someone could be so utterly mistaken about a person?

Her vision blurred by the ceaseless tears rolling down her cheeks, Maddy marveled at the way her life had come full circle. The man that she had trusted most in this world had just deceived her and she collapsed as a broken woman, begging for someone to save her.

Sasha had said that he loved her…and Maddy believed him. She knew that he had been truthful about this one thing.

But, in that moment, Maddy also knew that if this was what it felt like to love—if this soul-crushing, incapacitating pain was love—then she vowed that she would never feel it again.

* * *

**So Maddy's secret is finally revealed! What do you think? Was it worth the suspense?**

**Thanks again to my reviewer, _wrong . perfection_!**

**Stay tuned...**


	9. Aftermath

**All right, so I have an apology and good news for all of you. Firstly, I want to apologize for the long hiatus that I took from writing. I had to focus on the last few weeks of my classes. Secondly, those classes are over now and I can write again! (that was the good news...I hope)**

**Without further ado, here is the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Maddy.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Aftermath**

How do you cope when all you ever believed in, all you had ever trusted, has betrayed you? How do you move on and learn to trust again? How do you pick up the pieces, fit them together again, and begin anew?

How do you forget the man whom you had felt yourself start to love?

It had been two months—two months since Sasha had driven away—and Maddy still didn't have the answers. To _any_ of those pressing questions. And each day the uncertainty gnawed away at her, devouring a little more and more of her, until she thought that she was going to go mad from the pain.

As she sat on the bus that was slowly taking them towards the Denver Exhibition, Maddy thought back over the past two months and realized that not all of it had been awful.

Training had continued in the Rock as if nothing had happened. Maddy had taken over Sasha's duties on the floor while Kim and Summer had picked up his office duties and it all seemed to be working rather well. It had been a little rocky at first, but Maddy had eventually acclimated to being "head coach" and had finally found the right balance that she needed to coach every gymnast. Payson had progressed, as had nearly everyone in the gym, and Maddy was proud of herself for holding them all together even though everyone still felt the sting of Sasha's betrayal.

Maddy had seen several of them glancing over at the corner of the parking lot that used to house his Airstream and sigh heavily, which had only bolstered her determination to be the sort of coach they needed right now. She had fought to be strong and authoritative, yet encouraging and friendly. Like Sasha used to be. She liked to think that she had succeeded, but her first true test was approaching. How would the Rock manage in the Exhibition?

Leaning her head against the window of the bus, Maddy was confident that the Rock had survived Sasha's absence, but she wasn't so sure about herself. Somehow, he had inveigled his way into Maddy's life and she had no idea when it had happened. She had lived six years of her life in almost total isolation, pushing all human contact and relationships aside, but in a few short weeks, one fair-haired man with a British accent had destroyed all of her walls, allowing all of this pain and doubt to flood her thoughts. She had thought that the pain she had felt because of Coach Tim had been debilitating, but with Sasha, it quite literally _crippled_ her when she was alone. She acted strong and unaffected in the gym, trying to be a role model, but when she was away from her gymnasts, it was all she could do to keep herself from collapsing on the floor, unable to move. She had no clue how to push through this agony.

It had taken her a few days to understand why Sasha's betrayal had hurt her more than Coach Tim's had. When Coach Tim had betrayed her trust, all Maddy had felt was anger, but with Sasha, she was consumed by so much more. Of course, she _was_ angry, but she was also hurt, confused, sad, and…_lonely_.

She had managed to heal herself six years ago, but Maddy was starting to have serious doubts that she would ever survive Sasha's abandonment. They say that time heals all wounds, but _this_…this was not going away, _this_ was not healing. It was festering and ate away at her more each day, it became increasingly harder to her to crawl out of bed, and it became harder for her to focus.

There was just no fight in her anymore. Sasha Belov had _obliterated_ her.

She knew that she had been surly to several of the gymnasts when they had asked her about Sasha—so much so that no one even mentioned his name in her presence anymore in fear that she would snap or glare at them. It was unfair of her—Maddy knew that—but she had discovered six years ago that the only way to staunch the wounds of betrayal was through pure, unadulterated fury. Unfortunately, her anger at Sasha also proved to many people that something had transpired between them, something that might have helped in pushing Sasha away from the Rock.

Okay, not many people…just Summer. Summer had been curt and upset with Maddy ever since Sasha had left and Maddy was at a loss to understand why. Did Summer blame Maddy for Sasha abandonment? They had been good friends before, but now…she was lucky if Summer even spoke a word to her. She _needed_ to find a way to repair that bridge.

Maddy jumped as she felt a hand grip her shoulder and shake gently. Spinning her head around, she saw Emily looking down at her curiously, saying, "Coach Reynolds? We're here."

Turning her head back to look out the window, Maddy was surprised to see that they had indeed arrived, but she hadn't noticed since she had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts. Nodding, Maddy replied, "Thank you, Emily."

Standing, Maddy forced herself to look cheerful and smile even though she felt the gaping hole in her chest—which had been there since Sasha had ripped her recently mended heart out—still throbbing with his memory. Clapping her hands together, she addressed the faces staring up at her, "All right. I know that we've all had a tough few months, but that's about to change. People think that we're weak now, that we aren't as good as we once were." Maddy saw her words cause several somber looks and so she quickly finished, "So let's go out there and show everyone that the Rock is _still_ the best gymnastics club in the country!" She was met with several smiles and Maddy was glad. Pumping her fist in the air, she yelled, "Can I get a 'Rock On'?"

Everyone on the bus raised a fist into the air and yelled, "Rock On!"

Gathering her bag and swinging it over her shoulder, Maddy yelled, "I can't hear you!"

"Rock On!" they yelled and it practically deafened her.

Nodding her head, Maddy studied each person on the bus. Beckoning them all with her hand, she said conspiratorially, "Let's go kick some Denver ass." Winking at them, she turned and led them all off the bus amid giggles and several more shouts of "Rock On!"

* * *

Maddy grimaced at herself in the mirror. She couldn't believe that she had been roped into going to this event tonight. Not only was it going to be swarming with several reporters—Maddy gagged at that thought—but she was also required to dress up and smile sincerely, pretending to be happy even when all she desired was to disappear.

Slipping her feet into her black, satin heels, she looked at her completed ensemble. She was wearing a black dress with that was much shorter than she would have preferred, showing quite a bit of the pale, creamy skin of her legs, and it had a strap that only went over one of her shoulders, exposing the other and much of her back. It was belted in the middle, emphasizing her rather tiny waist and full chest, but it fell in flirty, sequined ruffles that bounced when she moved. Smiling bashfully, Maddy couldn't deny that she loved this dress. It had cost more than she would have liked, but she was glad that she had spent the extra money on a stunning outfit in light of the upcoming media frenzy.

Raising a hand, she gently pulled her curls to the side of her neck. She had piled most of her hair on top of her head, but she had left several, tight ringlets that just grazed her bare shoulder. Her ears sported shiny black earrings and a bangle slid up and down her thin wrist as she checked her make-up one last time.

Shrugging her shoulders, Maddy grabbed her wristlet and exited her hotel room, taking the elevator down to the lobby. When the doors opened with a ding, Maddy strode confidently out, already glancing around for her gymnasts. Before she could find them, however, she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

Turning, Maddy met the eyes of Marty Walsh, the head coach of the Denver Elite Club, whom she had met earlier that day. "Coach Walsh," she greeted with a smile.

He returned her smile and replied, "I thought I told you to call me Marty."

Laughing, Maddy responded, "So what can I do for you, Marty?"

"Well," he began, still smiling, "I was wondering if I could escort you into the party tonight?"

Frowning, Maddy answered, "I don't know. I think I was supposed to go in with my gymnasts." She glanced around the lobby in vain, still not finding them.

"They already left," Marty said, noticing that she was looking for them.

Deciding that she would rather face the media on the arm of the featured coach of the night rather than by herself, Maddy smiled warmly at Marty, "In that case, I would love to."

Marty extended his arm to her and Maddy wrapped her own around it. "Shall we?" Marty asked.

"After you," Maddy gestured with her wristlet and followed him as he led her out into the night.

* * *

Almost two hours later, Maddy was more than ready to leave this little soiree. She'd been hounded by news reporters, given several short interviews, watched her gymnasts behave oddly, and was no longer in an acting mood. She wanted to go back to her hotel room and plop on her bed, giving in to the pain that raged within her, stoked by the several questions that she had had to endure about Sasha.

But the night wasn't finished with her yet. It still had one unpleasant bomb to drop on her.

Maddy stood next to the table, drinking her little glass of white wine, when she saw Marty begin to walk over to her. He had been exceedingly nice to her tonight, standing politely by her side as eager reporters shouted their questions, and he had danced with her several times. Having learned of his romance with Ronnie Cruz some weeks ago, Maddy could only surmise that he was being cordial out of politeness, as if he knew that she had been dreading tonight immeasurably. He was the only reason that she hadn't screamed loud obscenities and run out of there already like a madwoman.

Setting her glass gently down on the table, she smiled up at Marty, "Hey, there."

"Hi," he returned her smile pleasantly. "Do you want to dance one last time and then get out of here?"

Sighing happily, she nodded her head emphatically. "You bet I do," she said, placing her palm in his outstretched hand.

He led her to the dance floor and gracefully swung her around, settling his free arm around her waist while she rested hers on his shoulder. Turning her head when she saw a camera point in her direction, Maddy tried to ignore the photographers capturing her and Marty's dance like they had been all night. She knew that _some_ magazine tomorrow would make too much out of their friendship and speculate whether or not "love was in the air".

Reminding herself to ignore them, Maddy settled in to the dance, letting the music swell through her and push all her emotions aside. She lost herself in the notes and thought only of the melody, which was why she was slightly startled when Marty whispered her name.

Looking quizzically up at him, Maddy braced herself. She had sensed that there was something he had been trying to tell her all night, but he had so far been unable to. Hearing him clear his throat, she knew that the time had come.

Leaning back slightly, she spoke quietly, "Just say it, Marty."

Nodding his head, he said, "I feel obligated to tell you…" He paused for a moment and then looked strongly into her eyes, finishing, "Sasha's in Denver."

Thoroughly shocked, Maddy stopped dancing, her brow furrowed and her breathing shallow. Still holding her, Marty continued, "He's been hiding out here since he left the Rock."

Sasha was in Denver? He had been this close the whole time? Maddy's eyes studied the floor as they darted back and forth in her confusion. He had been in such a hurry to leave that Maddy simply assumed that he had either gone back to his cabin in California or taken the long trip back to Romania. Learning that he had had the audacity to stick close to the people he had abandoned, Maddy felt her temper flare.

Scoffing humorlessly, Maddy shook her head and resumed dancing, saying flatly, "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"I can give you the address if you want," Marty offered, his eyebrows raised in question.

Shaking her head, Maddy objected vehemently, "No. I don't care where he is. He left and that's that."

"But don't you think you owe it to your gymnasts to try and get him back?" Marty asked with a disbelieving frown at her indifference.

"No," Maddy stated firmly. "He abandoned them. They're better off without a coach like that."

"So you won't even try?" Marty asked, but this time he stopped dancing.

"I _already_ tried, Marty," Maddy snapped in frustration. "I tried to stop him when he decided to leave in the first place, but nothing I said mattered to him." She extracted her arms from around him and threw them up in exasperation. "If I couldn't stop him then, why would he listen to me now?"

Without waiting for a response, Maddy strode from the dance floor and slipped out of the exit, already heading back to her hotel. Tired of her aching toes, Maddy stepped out of her heels and bent to pick them up, walking down the cold sidewalk in her bare feet. As she stepped on a small rock that caused a dull twinge of pain, Maddy couldn't help but remember the night that Sasha had so carefully bandaged her feet.

She had been strong since he had left, refusing to allow herself to weep on his account, but remembering that tender memory caused the tears to well in her eyes. He had been so gentle, so worried, and Maddy had been so grateful to him for taking care of her. How could someone who had been so upset at the thought of her in pain have caused her so much?

As the first of her tears threatened to fall, Maddy remembered her vow and turned her eyes to the sky, not allowing a single one to escape her eyes. She was done crying over Sasha Belov. She was done remembering him fondly. She was done with wondering what she could have done differently to stop him from leaving.

She was _done_ with Sasha Belov.

* * *

Three days later, Maddy sagged against the bar in the annex building, allowing her exhaustion and emotions to break free from her tight hold as the last of her gymnasts faded from her sight. She had been working with Emily, helping her with her extensions and grace. The young girl had a hard time holding her poses, but after only a few minutes with Maddy, her posture and fluidity had already greatly improved.

Straightening herself back up, Maddy let one of her hands fall from the bar and began rotating her neck and stretching out her tight muscles. The stress of the last few days had become unbearable and she felt the need to let it out.

Looking over her shoulder, Maddy checked to make sure that she was alone and then slipped out of her jeans and t-shirt, revealing the sleeveless, navy blue leotard that she had on underneath. Returning to the bar, Maddy moved gracefully through some beautiful ballet moves, warming her body and stretching her limbs more fully. Feeling limber, she strode to the floor mat and let her emotions fly free.

Letting her music swell within her, Maddy embodied the anger and sadness that she felt and expressed it with the strength of her tumble passes and the poignant rotations of her long-limbed body. She leaped across the mat, her head thrown back, and she flew through the air, somehow conveying the clumsiness of uncertainty while retaining her graceful posture. She soon returned to her senses and found that she had ended in a split, her body folded down over her outstretched leg. Clasping her foot, she turned her head to the side, resting it on her shin, and sighed sadly.

Would she never forget him? Would she never be free of this crushing pain? This guilt?

"You're hurting more than we are," Maddy heard a strained voice say and she snapped her eyes open as she realized that her impromptu performance had been for an audience. Payson, Emily, and Lauren all stood at the edge of the mat, their hands nervously shoved into their pockets, with concerned expressions on their faces.

Pushing herself gracefully to her feet, Maddy brushed her hands on her leotard and cleared her throat, trying to think of some way to answer Payson without giving away her true feelings. Before she could however, Emily spoke.

"You miss him," she said simply and everyone knew exactly to whom she was referring.

Sighing heavily as she stopped before them, Maddy answered honestly, "I miss a man I thought I once knew." She shrugged her shoulders as she folded her arms across her chest, finishing, "But it turns out that he never existed. He wasn't the man I thought he was."

"We want to go and see him," Lauren whispered, staring at the ground.

"What?" Maddy barked in shock. "Why?"

"He was our coach," Payson replied. "We just want to understand."

"And you think that he'll be able to give you closure?" Maddy asked incredulously.

"We just need to know why he left us," Emily gushed, her doubt and insecurity tainting her words. She continued emotionally, "We trusted him. We believed in him. I need to know why he didn't believe in me. I need to know why he couldn't stand beside me."

Sighing, Maddy grasped Emily's upper arms, understanding the girl's feelings. "Em," she said softly, "it wasn't that he didn't believe in you. It was just more that he didn't believe in himself."

"That's not a good enough reason," Payson exclaimed firmly. "We want answers. We _deserve_ answers."

Maddy rested her hands on her hips, spinning away from them and walking in a small circle as she contemplated what to do. She had tried for the last few months to make all the gymnasts understand that Sasha wasn't coming back. She had tried to fill the void that he had left and she thought that she had done a good job of it, but there was one thing that she hadn't been able to give them that they truly needed. They needed to hear the truth from Sasha himself. They wouldn't be able to let go until they heard him explain why he left them, why he wasn't strong enough to stay for them.

Turning back around to them, she held her hands out in exasperation. "I want to help you," she finally answered honestly, "but I don't know where he is."

"We do," Emily admitted as she took a step forward.

"And we want you to come with us," Payson finished.

Shocked, Maddy took a step back. She knew that it was the right thing for the girls to go and see Sasha, but was it the right move for her? Would seeing him finally dissipate this knot in her stomach, soothe this ache in her chest? Would she be able to look at him—stand in his presence—without breaking down in tears and begging him to come back? Was she brave enough to face him?

Looking into the eyes of the girls before her, she could see that they were each looking to her for strength. They _needed_ her to go with them.

Nodding her head, Maddy agreed. "All right," she said. "Let me get dressed and then we'll go."

Their faces showed their relief as they nodded.

"You can wait in my car," Maddy gestured. "I'll be out once I lock up."

As the girls disappeared from the gym, Maddy slipped back into her jeans, pulled her white t-shirt back over her head, and began her closing duties.

Ten minutes later, Maddy shrugged into her black leather jacket and rested the strap of her duffel bag onto her shoulder. As she was about to leave her office, Maddy rested her hand on her bag and stopped. Spinning on her heel, she walked over to the coffee table and set her duffel on it as she sat down on the couch.

Leaning forward, she unzipped one of the side pockets and reached a hesitant hand inside. Clenching her hand gently, she pulled out a white envelope that had her name written on the outside of it in achingly familiar handwriting. Looking down at the black ink, Maddy thought back to two months ago when she had found this envelope inside her mailbox.

It had been the day after Sasha left and Maddy had returned home after a grueling day at the gym as everyone tried to figure out what the Rock would do without a coach. Maddy had tiredly walked out to her mailbox and retrieved the day's mail, flipping through it as she returned to her porch. Halfway up her driveway, she had stopped instantly, her fingers resting on an envelope that had no stamp or return address. It simply had her name written on the outside and someone had clearly just placed it inside her mailbox.

She had recognized the handwriting instantly as Sasha's and she had longed to tear it open and see what it was that he had written her. Was it another proclamation of love? Was it an apology? An explanation?

Just as her fingers had slipped underneath the lip of the envelope, she had stopped herself forcefully. It didn't matter what he had to say. Nothing could atone for what he had done to her and the gymnasts at the Rock.

And so she hadn't read his letter. For days, it had just sat untouched on her counter since she couldn't find the strength to simply throw it away. Soon after, she had taken to carrying it with her, a constant reminder of why she despised him and why she should continue to let her hate for him consume her.

Sitting on the couch, Maddy decided that it was time she returned it to him. Sliding it inside her jacket, she stood and zipped her coat, picking up her bag and walking out of the gym to face her greatest fear.

She would finally confront Sasha Belov.

* * *

Two hours later, Maddy pulled her SUV into the parking lot of the address that the girls had given her. Maddy had been furious when she learned that they had gotten it from Marty Walsh after she had clearly told him she didn't want it, but her anger soon dissipated as she remembered that this was good for the girls. She should have helped them to confront Sasha months ago.

As Maddy pulled into a parking space, she heard Lauren say, "Seriously? _This_ is where he's hiding?"

Maddy had to agree with Lauren's skepticism and disgust. The address that Marty had given them had brought them to a gym in an unsavory part of Denver that specialized in boxing and hand-to-hand combat. Skeptically, Maddy eyes glanced over the few vehicles in the parking lot, sighing when she noticed Sasha's familiar truck parked close to the building, confirming that he was, indeed, inside.

Unbuckling herself, Maddy opened the door and slid out, turning back to the girls in the car. "Well," she began, "are you coming or not?"

There was a flurry of movement as each of the girls unbuckled themselves and hopped from the car, slamming their doors behind them. As they all walked in a group toward the front door of the gym, Maddy reached her keys over her shoulder and locked the doors with her keyless entry, thinking that, in this seedy neighborhood, it probably wouldn't do any good.

Climbing up the front stairs, Maddy pulled open the door and held it so that Payson, Emily, and Lauren could walk through it, pretending to be much calmer than she was so that she didn't betray her roiling insides.

The inside of the building was dimly lit and smelled like old, sweaty, disgusting gym socks. It had none of the refreshing smells of the Rock, such as the dusty chalk, but was instead like hitting a wall of putrefaction.

Adjusting her breathing so that it was through her mouth rather than her nose, Maddy glanced around the gym. Directly in front of her was a boxing ring and to her right were several punching bags and other apparatuses that she couldn't name, not having taken a boxing class before. To her left was a locker area, with a bench and two rows of lockers that faced each other. There were only three men in the gym, two that Maddy didn't recognize were hammering away at the punching bags, but she quickly found Sasha.

He was standing with his back to them in the locker area, shrugging into a gray, zip-up hoodie. Gritting her teeth, Maddy watched as Payson squared her shoulders and led the troupe over toward Sasha, stopping close behind him and stubbornly folding her arms across her chest.

As though sensing their presence, Sasha slowly spun around, closing his eyes as he realized that he had been found. His eyes grazed over each of the girls standing before him and then he looked as though he was about to study Maddy and so she stood tall, wiping her face of any emotion as she slipped back behind her strong façade. She blinked her eyes in surprise however, when he _didn't_ look at her, shame making him stare at his shoes instead.

Taking the opportunity to examine Sasha while he wasn't looking at her, Maddy had a difficult time containing the gasp of surprise that bubbled up in her throat. Sasha had always had a dangerous edge to his looks—owing to his constant stubble—but now he looked simply frightening. His lip was split down the middle and swollen and his eye was a brilliant purple color, the edges only beginning to yellow. It seemed to Maddy as if he had spent his days getting hammered on, as if he relished the pain.

For a moment, she allowed herself to feel pity for this man…but then he spoke and Maddy pushed aside her sympathy and pulled up her anger once more.

"What are you all doing here?" he finally asked, his lilting voice tired and defeated.

Knowing that it was up to the girls now, Maddy leaned against the wall, folding her arms across her chest and crossing her ankles as she stared down at her feet.

Maddy could hear the shuffling of their feet as they each tried to decide where to start. Surprisingly, Maddy heard Emily begin the inquisition.

"Do you remember when you had me fall backwards off the balance beam?" Emily asked, deceptively cordial.

"A trust fall exercise," Sasha answered with a nod, standing tall and folding his arms across his chest.

"You said that I could trust you," Emily replied, her emotion making her voice shake. "You said that you would always stand beside me."

Seeing the lie in which he had been caught, Sasha bowed his head, bracing himself for the flood of fury and guilt that was about to break over him.

"Why did you leave me?" Emily demanded, gritting her teeth. "Was I not good enough?"

Sighing, Sasha rubbed his face roughly with one of his hands before brazenly meeting Emily's eyes and answering, "With or without me, you're the only one who can answer that."

"_This_ is why it's so hard for me to trust," Emily yelled, holding her hands out to her sides. "This is why I fought against giving myself and my future over to you. Why did you have me do that if you were just going to abandon me once things started getting tough?"

Shaking his head, Sasha replied stubbornly, "I'm sorry, Emily. I don't have the answers you're looking for."

Maddy could see the color flood Emily's cheeks as her temper rose. "I guess not," she snapped and refused to look at him again, her utter anger and confusion silencing her.

"Well," Lauren began nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders, "I always knew that you weren't there for me. I'm just here because they asked me to come." She flapped a hand toward Payson and Emily.

Silently, Sasha shook his head as he stared at his sneakers, as though some part of him was fighting to scream out the answers, to beg their forgiveness, but the look in his eyes when he raised his head told Maddy that it had lost. He looked straight at Payson now, knowing that she was about to speak and anticipating the worst.

"I believed in you," Payson whispered, her eyes glassy as she shook her head. Sniffling, she reached a hand in her pocket and pulled out Sasha's gold medal that he had given her all those months ago. She held it in her palm gently, the red ribbon folded up neatly, and she stared down at it as she condemned, "When you gave this to me to hold, it represented something special. Not just athletic triumph, but everything I believed that you stood for. Courage. Strength. Kindness, perseverance, and never _ever_ giving up." Payson paused for a moment and glared up into his face, continuing, "Now when I look at it, all I can see is a quitter." She took a step forward and growled, "You quit on me, you quit on the Rock, you quit on _everybody_." She tossed the medal at his chest and Sasha moved quickly to catch it, surprise registering through the pain on his face. "So here," Payson snapped, "I don't want it anymore."

Without waiting for what surely would have been his pathetic response, Payson spun on her toes and strode away from Sasha with her head held high. With one last glare at Sasha, Emily also spun around and followed closely after Payson and Lauren simply sighed and shrugged her shoulders, silently following the others out the door.

* * *

The door slammed shut behind the girls, the sound so loud that he jumped as it reverberated around the room. Too frightened to meet her eyes, Sasha continued to stare down at the floor mats underneath him. When the silence grew too loud and he couldn't take the heat from her scathing stare any longer, Sasha hesitantly raised his eyes to the woman that he had wanted to study so badly since they had all stormed in, but had been too afraid to.

She stood leaning against the wall, her legs stretched out and crossed in front her and her arms folded across her chest. She looked stunning dressed in a pair of tightly fitting, flared black jeans, her black Chucks, and an open, black leather jacket over a white V-neck t-shirt. Her hair had grown and she was in need of a haircut as her shaggy bangs covered more of her face than usual and Sasha found it hard to breathe, enclosed in this small space with the woman he still loved who despised him.

Wordlessly, she pushed herself off from the wall and began taking slow steps toward him, her unblinking, blank gaze not straying from his own eyes. He watched as he reached a hand into her jacket and pulled out a white envelope, dropping it on top of his duffel bag that rested on the bench next to him. Still silent, she then rotated on her toes and turned away from him, walking back toward the door to follow the girls.

Glancing down at the envelope, Sasha's heart dropped. He could see his own handwriting on the outside that addressed it to Maddy. It was the letter that he had written to her with tears in his eyes after he had driven away from the Rock all those months ago. Unable to leave without telling her how he felt more precisely, he had pulled his truck over on the shoulder of the road and poured his heart out in a letter. Driving to her house, he had sealed it, written her name on the outside of the envelope, placed a kiss to the bundle, and had slipped it into her mailbox.

Two months later, Sasha bent and picked up that same letter, tears welling in his eyes as he clearly saw that it was still unopened. She had never even broken the seal.

"You didn't read it," he called out to her retreating back as a tear dropped down his cheek.

Surprisingly, since Sasha hadn't thought that she would stop, Maddy turned back around to him, her face cold and uncaring. Taking a deep breath, she replied flatly, "You'd already said all that I needed to hear." She shrugged and that motion caused fresh pain to throb through the hole in Sasha's chest as she continued, "I didn't see the point."

Sasha dropped his gaze back to the letter in his hands, not surprised to notice that the letter didn't even look like it had been handled. It was still as pristinely white as when he had placed it into her mailbox. She had probably never even touched it more than twice, once to retrieve it and once to give it back to him. Sighing loudly in pain, Sasha forced his eyes back to face Maddy, to take one more, long look at her since he probably wouldn't ever behold her face to face again.

Meeting his gaze, she nodded her head curtly once and turned on her heels without waiting for his reply, laying a hand upon the doorknob.

"Maddy—" Sasha breathed pleadingly, but he stopped short when she pivoted back to face him, hand still resting on the door handle.

She gave him a once over quickly with her eyes, taking him in from his toes to his head and resting on his bruises for several moments. Sasha began to squirm under her studious gaze, more ashamed of what he had done than ever before. He waited interminably for her to do something, to speak.

Finally—_finally_—he was rewarded as she uttered the words that broke his heart all over again. If she had said anything else, if she had tried to convince him to come back, if she had said that she could someday forgive him, if she had confided that she understood what he was going through, then Sasha could have survived. He would have done anything she asked if she had simply said something other than what she did.

It wasn't only the words she spoke that destroyed him. No, it was the knowledge that they were possibly the last ones that she would ever speak to him and she didn't say anything meaningful, even though there was plenty to say. She didn't tell him that she was glad to have met him, that he had changed her life, or that she wished him luck. Sasha looked into her eyes and saw ice, he saw the detachment in her gaze. She truly was finished with him and that was why the choice of her words ripped him apart.

Shrugging her shoulders, she stated indifferently, "You look like shit, by the way."

And with that, she was gone. And Sasha knew that she wasn't coming back ever again.

* * *

**I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed my story so far and I hope that I get some more for this chapter!**


	10. Moving On

**Here we go, folks!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Maddy and all her poor, confused, messed-up thoughts.**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Moving On**

Exhausted, Maddy blindly tossed her keys in the direction of her counter, pleased when she heard them slap against the hard surface since it meant that she hadn't missed. It was dark in her house, the only light being the faint green illumination from the clock on the microwave that proclaimed the time to be 10:47pm. It had been a long day.

Shrugging out of her leather jacket, Maddy let the garment fall to the floor with a heavy slap as she stumbled her way over to the refrigerator, guided by the stark whiteness of the appliance in the dark gloom. Wrapping her fingers around the handle, she wrenched the door open and stood silently as her eyes passed over everything inside, her eyes blinking to adjust to the sudden burst of light. Her stomach clamored for sustenance, but Maddy could not bring herself to eat anything that she saw. Sighing deeply, she instead reached for one of the beers that rested inside the door, holding it up before her face as she contemplated the bottle.

Cocking her head to the side, Maddy's eyes traveled to the cupboard to the left of the refrigerator. Resignedly, she returned the beer to its rightful place in the fridge and nudged the door shut. Reaching up with her hand, she pulled open the cupboard door and slipped her fingers inside, groping around in the dark until they closed around the neck of a glass bottle. She placed the container on the counter and gave the cap a savage twist, breaking the seal, and retrieved a clean glass from the drying rack next to the sink. Returning to the fridge, Maddy reached a hand into the freezer and filled the glass with several ice cubes and then picked up the glass and the bottle and trudged toward her bedroom.

Standing next to her bed, Maddy kicked off her Chucks and struggled out of her socks, her head turned to stare out of the glass double doors toward the lake beyond, glimmering in the light of the moon. She pushed open the door and bounded down the stairs barefoot, the cool grass tickling her ankles as she crossed to the dock.

The night was quiet except for the gentle sound of the waves rocking against the wooden planks, the crickets chirping, the frogs croaking, and the light thud of Maddy's feet as they danced down to the end of the dock. Unable to go any further without getting wet, she dropped heavily onto the wood and crossed her legs, pouring an ample amount of the amber liquid into the small glass that she held.

Maddy didn't drink often. She sometimes had a beer or a small glass of wine with dinner, but she rarely ever allowed herself to drink to the point of intoxication. Tonight however, all Maddy longed to do was drink this bottle of bourbon until she passed out, oblivious to the world.

When she had awoken that morning, Maddy never would have imagined that by the end of the day she would have come face to face with Sasha Belov again. If she had, she would have simply turned off her alarm, raised the blankets over her head, and rolled off to sleep again. Sitting there in the dark on the hard, wooden surface, she tossed back her glass and swore inwardly that she would have paid any price if she had simply done so.

Following the confrontation with Sasha, the ride home from Denver had been endured in silence. Not one of the girls had uttered a sound, each choosing instead to brood silently, and so Maddy had decided to leave them to their thoughts. Incidentally, it also meant that Maddy was alone with hers as well, which was an occurrence that she tried hard to avoid, but she had managed to keep herself from thinking back on the meeting, from thinking about Sasha until she could do so alone.

Well she was alone now and knew that it was time to open the floodgates, but she was too weak to do it without some liquid courage. Pouring another healthy dose into the glass, Maddy drank deeply and rolled her neck on her shoulders, lying back onto the weathered wood and dipping her feet into the lake as she stared up at the stars above. Running a hand through her hair, she delved into the thoughts and feelings that she had tried to barricade from the forefront of her mind since seeing Sasha earlier that night.

She had thought that she would feel anger and inconsolable disappointment if she ever faced Sasha again, but the truth had been shocking. While she _had_ felt both, there had been several other emotions swirling around in her confused brain, making a tough situation even harder for her to handle. She had been prepared for the fury and hatred, but she hadn't been ready for the all-encompassing pity and sorrow that had plagued her from the very first sight of his bruised, battered, blue, beautiful eyes.

She had spent weeks so obsessed with condemning him for his actions that she had never actually stopped to closely examine how he must have felt. Two months ago, when he had bared his heart to her, she had stomped on it, lying to him about her own feelings for him and hurting him in the greatest way that she knew how. She had endured a constant ache all these months, but she had never considered that he might be in just the same amount of pain as she had been. She had never even contemplated how their last exchange might have crippled _him_.

Rubbing her face roughly, she tried to scour the look of his tortured eyes from her mind. From behind her closed eyelids, his blue orbs burned her skin, making her feel ashamed for all that she had said and done, destroying her with guilt. Unable to take it any longer, Maddy took another deep drink from the glass that she held tightly in her hand.

While driving home from Denver, Maddy had come to one conclusion: she had been fooling herself since Sasha had run away. She had fooled herself into thinking that she could be the coach that these gymnasts needed, but facing Sasha had only reminded her that a coach needed to be whole and confident in order to lead elite teenagers.

She was neither.

Years ago, the worries and hatred of the world had aged her until she felt decades older than she actually was, but the truth was that she was only twenty-four. She was still a baby in the grand scheme of things. There were so many life experiences that she had missed, having first been sheltered by her elite gymnastics career and secondly by her self-imposed ostracism from society. She had never been to a party, been incredibly drunk, gone to college, or been seriously kissed before. Hell, she was probably the only twenty-four year old woman in the world who had never even been in love!

How had she ever believed that she could groom and coach these kids when she was still a child herself?

Laughing almost maniacally, Maddy suddenly realized all the mistakes she had made and how she had almost single-handedly ruined her own life. Six years ago, she had let her fear of a man and the disappointment of a nation keep her from living her own life. She had hidden from the accusations, cowering on account of her own cowardice.

No longer.

Maddy was tired of being pushed around, of trying to be strong and uncaring. She had lived the last six years of her life that way and, looking back, she realized what a waste it had been. What kind of person would she be today if she had simply told the truth? Where would she be now?

Sitting up off the wooden planks of the dock, Maddy was suddenly struck by the cold clarity of truth. She had accompanied the girls tonight because she had thought that they needed to confront their coach, that they had needed to express their feelings to the man who had abandoned them. Maddy had thought that she had needed to as well, but she felt no better after having destroyed Sasha yet again.

But…maybe—_just maybe_—she had confronted the wrong man.

All of this doubt, this uncertainty—hell, all of this _anger_—stemmed from her betrayal six years ago by the man whom she had trusted most in the entire world. Perhaps she had been imposing her anger and hurt onto Sasha, transferring those feelings of utter hatred for Timothy Blackwell to Sasha.

Not to say that she wasn't still angry with Sasha. She was, but…would she have reacted so strongly if Coach Tim hadn't betrayed her first?

Her thoughts jumbled from her uncertainty and the alcohol she had consumed, Maddy glanced down at the glass in her hand, realizing immediately that drinking herself into a stupor was not the correct way to solve her problems. She needed to think this through. She needed a clear head because the answers to these questions were important. This guilt—this pain that ate at her from the inside—was of her own making and only she could stop it. But how?

Unable to answer this question, Maddy sighed and dumped the remaining contents of her glass into the lake before she pushed herself to her feet. Whatever the answer was, she would not be able to find it tonight. Not when she was this drained physically and emotionally. Perhaps after a full night's rest the cobwebs that clouded her mind would lessen and she would be able to think clearly again.

Maddy stumbled into the kitchen and placed the glass and bottle of whiskey onto the counter, turning back around to head for the bathroom so that she could brush her teeth and drift off to sleep. As she walked past the phone hanging on the wall, she noticed that the answering machine was blinking, indicating that a new message had been left for her while she had been outside. Turning back toward the kitchen, Maddy saw that the microwave now proclaimed the time to be 1:12am. Had she really been outside that long?

Curious to see who would leave a message this late at night, she raised a shaky finger and pressed play on the machine, immediately wishing that she hadn't.

"Hi," a voice Maddy instantly recognized as Sasha's began hesitantly, so soft that she had almost missed it. Clearing his throat, Sasha continued, "I know that I'm probably the last person—" He broke off suddenly and Maddy could picture him shaking his head as he corrected himself, "—No. I know that I _am_ the last person you want to hear from right now, but I had to call you." He paused and, in his silence, Maddy could hear the echoes of strange noises in the background. After a moment, he continued, "I'm sitting in an airport terminal, waiting for my flight home—" He stopped talking as he chuckled humorlessly, saying, "Who am I kidding? The very sight of the hatred in your eyes tonight, the knowledge that you will never forgive me, has me _fleeing_ the _country_. Can you believe that?"

He paused again and Maddy found herself clenching her fists so tightly that her fingernails bit into her palms, a part of her wishing that she would stop the message but another part begging him to keep talking. Finally, he did continue, his voice shaking with emotion, "I know that you hate me. I know that you think I'm weak and a coward, but…I can't leave without telling you how I feel one last time. All these months—ever since the night that I left the Rock—my _only_ consolation has been that you had my letter. The _only_ way that I could convince myself to crawl out of bed was telling myself that you had read it, that you knew how deeply I cared for you and how sorry I was that I left you when you needed me. I stayed close all this time, hoping that you would find me, that you would come to me. I even had Marty Walsh take you to the Exhibition so that he could tell you where I was, but you didn't come. You didn't come, but I _still_ couldn't leave, I couldn't stop hoping that you would forgive me." He paused and Maddy heard him sniffle quietly, knowing that he was crying softly as he continued, "And then tonight you _did_ come and all that I had been expecting to feel—the happiness, the elation—I didn't feel any of it. Instead, I felt ashamed more than ever before. Instead, I felt a hatred toward myself greater than any that even you could feel for me."

Sasha cleared his throat and Maddy could picture him in her mind, his blond hair in disarray as he raised a calloused hand to roughly wipe the tears from his stubbled cheeks and red-rimmed, bruised eyes. She felt a pang deep in her chest as she realized the pain he must be feeling and her breathing became labored. She couldn't take any more, she couldn't bear to hear any more of his pain—she had too much of her own to deal with—and all of her—every _single_ part—screamed at him to stop talking, to stop hurting her. But she had done this, she had broken this man, and it was her curse to endure the consequences of what she had wrought.

"I love you, Maddy," Sasha said softly. "I think that maybe I always have, but—" he broke off and Maddy pictured him shifting his weight from foot to foot as he continued, "—But I understand now. I understand why you don't love me. I see now why you can't stand to look at me and so I'm leaving. I'm getting as far away from you as I can. It's the only way I can think of to make amends for the pain and hurt that I've caused you. I love you—and I'm so sorry for that."

He didn't say good-bye or offer any sort of farewell. The last thing that Maddy heard was the roughness of his voice as he began to weep in earnest with heavy, wracking sobs and then a cold, final, distant click as he hung up the phone, severing himself from her.

Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes, but Maddy stared unseeingly at the wall, his words echoing in her head.

Not caring if it was the right thing to do or not, Maddy staggered over to the counter and fumbled for the bottle of whiskey, forgoing the glass as she threw open the French doors and tripped her way down the dock. Throwing herself upon the wooden planks, Maddy pressed the bottle to her lips and drank heavily, closing her eyes as the first tear snuck out from under her eyelids.

Lowering the bottle from her mouth, she let out a scream of pain, anger, hatred, and anguish that echoed loudly back at her from the lake, but even that was not able to block out the unending repetition of Sasha's words in her head.

* * *

The following night found Maddy standing outside the door of the conference room in the Rock, debating whether or not to enter. The parent's board was meeting inside and Maddy had a matter to discuss with them, but she needed to collect the strength to follow it through first.

She raised a hand and pushed her bangs out of her eyes, rubbing her forehead gently as she reflected on how grateful she was that her head had finally stopped pounding from the drowning that she had given it the previous night. She didn't know how long she had sat drinking upon the dock, but dawn had awoken her and she had discovered that she had fallen asleep there, the now half-empty bottle of bourbon clutched in her fist. It had taken all her resolve to get herself dressed and to the gym on time and about half a bottle of ibuprofen to get her back to working condition.

Now, standing outside the door, Maddy knew that she should just get it over with and so she pushed the door open confidently and strode into the room, smiling at the several parents who turned to her with quizzical expressions in their eyes.

Steve Tanner rose to his feet at the head of the table, a pained expression on his face. Though he had submitted to the tenuous truce that Maddy had called two months prior, he had never truly come to accept Maddy as a coach…and Maddy had resented coaching Lauren since the young gymnast had still not earned Maddy's respect.

"Maddy," Steve greeted, "we weren't expecting you tonight."

She smiled. "I know and I'm sorry for just barging in, but," she paused as she took a deep breath, finishing, "there is something that I wish to discuss with the parents."

Steve glanced around the table and then gestured with his hand for Maddy to continue, saying, "Please."

As Steve sat down in his chair, Maddy angled her body to face the rest of the room. Fiddling with her hands in front of her, she began, "Last night, I took some of the girls to confront Coach Belov."

There were several shocked expressions around the room so Maddy quickly continued, "He's been staying in Denver all this time and I thought that it would do them some good to try and get some answers."

Kim spoke up from her seat, asking, "And did they?"

"Unfortunately," Maddy answered, "he was in no condition to offer them any sort of closure."

Kim gazed intently at Maddy, able to read her emotions more easily than Maddy liked, and questioned, "And you? Did it help you at all?"

Maddy blew an exasperated breath from her lips and shrugged her shoulders. "No," she answered with a sad smile. "But it did make me come to realize something. Something that we should have discussed a long time ago."

Many of the parents shifted in their seats, so Maddy took a deep breath and launched into her spiel. "When I took over for Sasha, I only did so to protect your children—my gymnasts—from Ellen Beals. I was under the impression that it would only be a temporary thing and that Sasha Belov would soon be restored as head coach, thereby returning me to the position of _assistant_ coach." Maddy sighed and shrugged her shoulders, continuing, "We all know that that didn't happen and so I have continued my duties as head coach of this gym—and I think I've done an admirable job for someone with no experience."

Maddy was pleased to see several of the parents nodding in agreement and so she was heartened as she said, "Seeing Coach Belov last night served as a painful reminder of just how inexperienced I truly am. I sometimes forget because of all that I've been through, but…" Maddy trailed off as she shrugged her shoulders, saying, "But the truth is that I'm only twenty-four. I'm still young. _Too_ young." She paused and then continued, "I took a job here at the Rock as assistant coach and I enjoyed it. I liked being able to focus my attentions on a few gymnasts a day, helping them as best I could. As head coach, I don't have the _time_ that I used to and I miss that close interaction."

Maddy forced herself to stand tall as she said, "I have neither the experience nor the desire to be the leading coach at the Rock. I did my part and kept this gym running smoothly after Coach Belov's dismissal, but…it's time for you to find a new coach. Someone older than me and who is better equipped to lead these gymnasts. I no longer want the responsibility."

Maddy stopped talking and studied the parents as they gave each other worried looks and mumbled unintelligibly to each other. Finally, Steve's voice rose over the din as he cleared his throat, asking, "Just to be clear, if we were to find a new coach, you would still remain in your capacity as assistant coach?"

Frowning, Maddy responded honestly, "Of course. I was hired as an assistant by Coach Belov and that's the position in which I hope to continue."

"Good," Steve responded unexpectedly. "As much as it pains me to admit, you're a good fit here at the Rock and the kids look up to you for your strength and skill."

Shocked, it was all Maddy could do to stammer, "Thank you, Mr. Tanner."

Steve waved his hand in the air, dismissing the gravity of the moment. Leaning back in his chair, he nodded his head, agreeing, "Yes. I believe you're right and that it's time for the board to start looking for a new coach since it's clear that Sasha will not be returning."

Maddy smiled and nodded her head, looking at each of the parents in turn as she said, "I don't know if I can be of any help in your search, but if there's anything that I can do…" Maddy trailed off without finishing the sentence, but the parents understood her offer.

Kim sighed and said, "Well, I for one was extremely pleased with how you were running the Rock, but if this is what you want…"

Maddy smiled gratefully at Kim, answering, "It is."

Kim nodded and as the rest of the parents sat in silent thought, Maddy decided to take the opportunity to leave and slipped silently out the door.

* * *

A week had passed since Maddy had urged the board to find a new coach, but as she pulled into her normal parking spot at the Rock, she felt a small surge of exasperation at the sign labeling it as hers. "Parking for Reynolds—Assistant Coach" it proclaimed to the world and she desperately wished that it were true.

Despite her best efforts, Maddy was worried. The Olympics were a mere two years away and the elite girls at the gym needed stability and a firmly entrenched trust in their coach in order to have the power, support, and skill that they needed to shine in the competition. As each day passed without a new coach, Maddy's worry intensified. She was absolutely certain that she could not lead these girls to the Olympics, but she now began to doubt that there was any coach who could. Most of the more talented and sought after coaches already had their own gyms and girls to look after and groom, so whom would the board actually be able to find on such short notice?

Maddy laid her head against the steering wheel and focused on another problem that was increasing in severity each day. Inexplicably, she felt herself pulling away from the gymnasts, returning to her aloof and surly ways. Where before she had been friendly and talkative, she now found herself frowning and terse, snapping commands and orders where she once had given suggestions. She tried not to—truly she did—but her temper and patience was wearing thin and she had no idea what was causing it.

Recently, she began to fear that soon she would follow in Sasha's footsteps, abandoning the gymnasts that depended on and looked up to her. She liked to think that she would be strong enough to stay with them, but lately, she dreaded walking into the gym, hated the cheery way that Payson greeted her in the morning, and, most of all, she _loathed_ sitting at the desk that had once been Sasha's.

Clarity suddenly dawned on her and a chill trickled uncomfortably down her spine. Her thoughts shifted to a memory from months ago, the day that Sasha had been suspended from the Rock and she had taken over as head coach.

They had been sitting at the small table outside of his Airstream and Maddy had tried to comfort him by saying, _"You're ten times the coach that I could ever hope to be and, I promise you, I will find a way to get you back. I can't do this without you. I don't know how to."_

Could that be it? Could that be the reason? Was she truly unable to coach without Sasha?

Or worse yet, did she just not _want_ to coach without him? Was he the reason that she had enjoyed coaching so much?

Unable to contemplate such a disturbing thought, Maddy frantically pushed open her door and stumbled to the ground, clumsily slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder. She stalked into the Rock with her head down and tromped up the stairs to the office. Acknowledging that both Summer and Kim were already there at their desk, shuffling papers and glancing up at her, she headed for the desk that they had given her once Sasha had left so that Steve could have a place to work at in the office as well.

Heavily, she collapsed into Sasha's chair and shed her jacket, ripping her sunglasses off her face and tossing them onto his desk with a loud slap. Settling back into the chair, Maddy studied the hard surface silently, glossing over the coffee mug that held the pencils and pens and the desktop calendar that was still turned to two months ago. Everything was still as hehad left it.

It was still Sasha's desk. Maddy had done nothing to personalize it or make it her own. She hadn't even changed the damn settings on the chair to make it more comfortable for her to sit in!

Thoughtfully, she turned her head to the small desk in the corner, piled high with stacks of papers, and the chair that had Steve's jacket hung on the back of it. While Maddy had felt uneasy about changing Sasha's personal space, Steve had had no such qualms about taking over hers.

Suddenly furious, Maddy wrenched open the bottom drawer to her right and removed the small black binder that held all of her notes and ideas—the one thing that she had allowed herself to pollute Sasha's space with—and she stood quickly, shoving the chair hard with the backs of her legs so that it smacked off the wall. Clenching her jaw and striding purposefully past Kim and Summer, Maddy marched over to her old desk and slapped her binder down on the surface top, the force of the throw knocking several of Steve's papers to the floor.

Still seeing red, Maddy haphazardly gathered up Steve's remaining papers and jacket and tossed them over onto Sasha's desk, not bothering to watch the papers fly through the air aimlessly and finally settle onto the various surfaces. Instead, she immediately turned and, not satisfied with her purging of Steve from her desk, swiped everything from the surface with her arms, toppling pencils, pens, paperclips, and Steve's empty coffee mug to the floor with a crash. She then laid her hands on the desktop and leaned on them, breathing heavily as she strove to calm her temper that had been so agitated by the thought that Sasha's presence would always haunt her in one way or another.

Her breathing under control, Maddy turned back around to face the destruction that she had wrought with her chin held high, slipping her cold, unfeeling mask back onto her face as she met the wide, startled, frightened eyes of Kim and Summer. Their mouths hung open in astonishment, but no sounds came out since they couldn't think of any words to say.

Clenching her hands into fists at her sides, Maddy turned her head when she heard Steve's approach to the office, watching the look on his face turn from one of curiosity to one of bewilderment.

"Wha—?" he stammered.

"I am _not_ the head coach," Maddy growled. "I do not want his desk. _This _is my desk," she pointed forcefully at the small one behind her as she continued, "_This_ is where I belong."

Sensing her fury, Steve held out a hand placatingly as he said soothingly, "All right. I understand—"

"No, you don't understand!" Maddy interrupted loudly. "I am _not_ the coach that he was!" she screamed, her face crumpling as she voiced the truth and her fears. "I've tried! But I just can't be him." Taking a deep breath, Maddy forced herself to calm down and lower her voice and then she looked back up at Steve, finishing, "Find a new coach, Steve."

"We're working on it," he promised.

"No," Maddy responded finally. "Find a new coach. _Today_. I won't be back until you do."

Leaving them to reflect on her ultimatum, Maddy walked over to where she had tossed her bag and jacket on the floor, bent to pick them up, and then pushed her way past a shocked and confused Steve, knowing that she was doing the wrong thing. As she descended the steps, she felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment of her childish temper tantrum, but she was unable to turn herself back around and apologize. She wanted to leave…_she needed to leave_.

As she slipped behind the wheel of her car and peeled out of the parking lot, Maddy felt the level of her fear increase when she realized sadly that it was way too easy for her to leave her gymnasts behind…just like it had been for Sasha.

* * *

Later that night, Maddy raised her keys and used them to silently unlock the front door of the Rock, intending to clean up the mess that she had made earlier. Slipping inside the doors, she didn't bother to flick any of the light switches on, but instead felt her way along in the dark, blindly climbing the stairs to the office.

Even once she entered the room, Maddy chose not to turn on the overhead light, but instead walked the familiar path to her desk in the corner and flicked on the desktop lamp that she kept there. A soft, dim light illuminated the office and the sudden brightness made Maddy narrow her eyes until they adjusted, allowing her to see that someone had already taken care of the mess that she had caused earlier. Once again, Maddy felt her cheeks redden at the thought of her behavior and quickly banished those thoughts.

Pulling out her chair, she gently sat down in it, spinning it around with her legs to face the desk that had first been Marty Walsh's, then Sasha's, and lastly hers. In the last few months, three coaches had occupied that desk, but it was the man who had sat in that chair before her that occupied her thoughts tonight…just like every other night.

When Maddy had been a teenager, she had always looked up to Sasha Belov. His strength, power, and own style of grace was evident in every routine and his personality always added an edge and deeper level of meaning to his performance. He was a loner, preferring to train alone, single-mindedly focusing on his career and ignoring those around him. After retirement, his determination and single-mindedness had been what made him such a great coach. He had the ability to drive his gymnasts to find and break their limits, but also the compassion and understanding to relate to their insecurities and inhibitions. He studied people, learned what made them tick, and he was able to inspire confidence and trust in them. He was able to ease fears and soothe nerves. He was their rock, their anchor.

So why had he let her down when she begged him to be there for her? Why couldn't he be _her_ rock, her anchor?

"Why did you leave?" Maddy whispered, confusion evident in her voice and the slump of her shoulders. "You knew that I couldn't do this without you."

Her words rang in the silence, but he did not answer.

"I warned him, you know," a voice spoke quietly behind her.

Startled, Maddy leapt up from her chair and rotated to study the form standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with her arms folded across her chest.

Summer.

Sinking back down into her seat, Maddy rested her elbows on her knees and leaned forward. "Warned him about what?" she asked tiredly.

"You," Summer responded flatly.

Shocked, Maddy raised her eyebrows. Since Sasha had left, Summer had been cold and distant toward Maddy, speaking to her only when she had to, and Maddy had assumed that it was because Summer blamed her for Sasha's leaving. Maddy couldn't blame her for thinking it. More often than not, she thought it herself.

Chuckling humorlessly, Maddy answered, "Good. I'm glad someone did."

"He broke up with me," Summer volunteered as she walked over to sit on the couch next to Maddy. "He was in love with you, not me."

Maddy squirmed in her chair as a new memory flooded her mind. "_Maddy, I love you! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"_ Sasha screamed pleadingly at her back.

"Did he tell you?" Summer questioned, bringing Maddy's attention back to the present.

"Did he tell me what?" Maddy responded guardedly.

"That he dumped me for you," Summer answered curtly.

Surprised once again, Maddy studied her clasped hands intently. She had wondered over the past few months what had transpired between Summer and Sasha that had ended in Sasha proclaiming his love for Maddy, but she had never had the nerve to ask. She hadn't wanted anyone to know that she had helped in pushing Sasha away, hiding her guilt and culpability from those looking for someone to blame. Learning now that Summer had known all along only made her guilt and shame increase.

"No," Maddy said quietly. "He didn't tell me that."

"I told him that you weren't right for him," Summer recounted. "That you would break his heart. That you didn't know how to love."

"All of which is true," Maddy responded softly, still feeling a pain in her heart as she acknowledged what she knew to be the truth.

After a long moment of silence, Summer finally admitted, "I'm not proud to say that, for a long time, I hated you."

"I can't blame you," Maddy agreed, "I hate myself." Saying it aloud for the first time, Maddy knew that it also was the truth.

"Until today," Summer interjected. "You were so…_indifferent_ after Sasha left that I was confused as to what he saw in you that he didn't see in me. _I _would never have let him go if he told me that he loved me."

Maddy couldn't think of a reply so she remained silent.

"But then," Summer continued, "Today I saw you take off that carefully constructed shell. I saw you lose that cool—that illusion of perfection—and I could finally see _you_. I finally understood how Sasha could fall in love with you."

"I don't," Maddy stated forcefully, shrugging her shoulders. "I honestly don't know why he would choose me when he had someone like you, someone so willing to love him back. I don't understand what he saw in me."

"Look at you," Summer said as she scooted closer, taking Maddy's hands in her own. "You're a beautiful, smart, talented, funny young woman and you're so strong. Anyone can see that."

"I thought you hated me," Maddy said pathetically.

"I was jealous," Summer responded with a shrug. "Today the Lord helped me to see the true you. He helped me to finally forgive both you and Sasha." She looked pointedly into Maddy's eyes, finishing, "And maybe he'll help you forgive Sasha too."

Maddy immediately frowned and growled, "I'll never forgive him. Not after what he did."

"He loved you," Summer said softly. "Is that really such an unforgivable crime?"

Maddy stood from her chair and began to pace in front of Summer. "I can forgive him for leaving me," she finally said. "But I can't forgive him for abandoning his gymnasts. I won't."

"He left because he thought it was the right thing to do," Summer pleaded. "While you and I may not agree with him on that, he thought that it was his only option. He blamed himself for all that had gone wrong with the girls."

"You don't understand," Maddy argued. "I _begged_ him to stay. I told him things that I've never told anyone and he _still_ left. How can I forgive him after that? _Why_ would I forgive him after that?"

A thoughtful expression on her face, Summer stood and walked over to Maddy. "I thought you said you could forgive him for leaving you," she said pointedly. "You think that he abandoned you, but the truth is that you _pushed_ him away. And you know it. _That's_ why you're so angry."

"That's ridiculous," Maddy retorted, but without her usual conviction.

"Maybe," Summer relented with a shrug. "But until you figure it out, you'll never be able to move on. Trust me, I know." Summer gave Maddy one last sad smile and then she slipped past her and disappeared into the dark of the gym, leaving Maddy alone with thoughts that were even more troubling and distracting than before.

Lost in those thoughts, Maddy collapsed onto the black sofa. She had allowed Sasha to get closer to her than anyone else in the past six years and look what it had gotten her. She was right back to where she had started six years ago. She had opened herself up to someone and he had trampled her and betrayed her trust. Could she forgive him for that? She wasn't sure.

Summer had forgiven Sasha. She had been able to look past his betrayal of her and move on, but could Maddy? Did she want to?

_Yes_. The answer came to her easily. She wanted to move on, she wanted to stop carrying around this guilt and shame. She wanted to be able to be herself, to let the person she only allowed people to see when she was performing be the one that they saw every day. Six years ago, she had locked that part of herself away, but somehow Sasha had picked the lock on the door and fallen in love with her. He had seen her true self, had begun to entice her out of the closet and back into the light of day.

Maddy didn't forgive him yet, but she wanted to. She was ready to move on, to live her life for the first time in six years. She had tried to hurt him worse than he had hurt her, but in the end, it hadn't achieved anything. All it had done was increase her own misery.

She had pushed Sasha away. Twice. And now she was doing it to her gymnasts and friends at the Rock.

She had to stop. _She had to let Sasha go._

Determined, Maddy stood and turned the desktop lamp off. Starting right now, she was moving on. Starting right now, she was letting go of the past and embracing the present.

Starting right now, she was going to live.

* * *

**Yay! A new leaf for Maddy...I'm wicked excited. And I love Summer. She is the definition of selfless, don't you think?**


	11. Partners

**Hi, everyone! I know that it's been a long while since I updated so please go back and read/skim the previous chapters if you don't remember what's going on!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Maddy...and Peter. Who's Peter, you ask? Get reading... :)**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Partners**

Maddy embraced the darkness as she pushed open one half of the double doors that led onto the floor of the Rock, the pale swath of light from the approaching dawn making the room around her appear gray until the heavy door closed behind her with a soft clunk.

Alone in the pitch black gym, Maddy took a deep breath, savoring the scent of chalk in the air as she pushed her hands deeper into her jacket pockets and rolled her head on her shoulders. Entirely by memory, she strode over to where she knew she would find the balance beam, resting a hand upon its smooth length as she kicked off her Chucks and rested her duffel bag on the floor. Shrugging out of her jacket, she raised a leg and proceeded to stretch her cold and stiff muscles until she was so warm that she reached behind her head and pulled her hair into a haphazard ponytail to keep its weight off her back.

Still enswathed in the darkness, Maddy reached down into her bag and retrieved her handgrips, strapping them onto her hands as she turned and jogged over to the bars. Clapping the excess dust from her hands, Maddy lightly grasped the bar with a hand to guide her to the middle where she tightened her grip and let her legs swing from the floor.

After several rotations, Maddy stopped her movement and carefully arranged her frame horizontally on top of the high bar, as she used to do in her gym back home in Maine. It had always been the one place that she could block out the world and simply retreat into her mind to think and reflect…and she now had several things on her mind.

At the very top of the list—as it had been all night—was the conversation that she had shared with Summer just a few hours ago. Summer had known ever since Sasha left that something had transpired between him and Maddy. She had known that he had loved Maddy, but still the woman had found it in her heart to figuratively grab Maddy by the shoulders and shake her awake. Maddy had been going through life with her heart guarded, pushing everyone away—friends and lovers alike—but she admitted something to herself last night that simultaneously disquieted and inspired her.

Maddy didn't know how to love.

For as long as she could remember, the only person in Maddy's life had been her mother, but since her mother had passed, Maddy had shut herself down to feeling anything for another person, never truly allowing herself to explore the feelings of loneliness and loss that had stemmed from her mother's death.

Maddy realized now that the real Madelyn Reynolds—that effervescent, quick to laugh, and temperamental kid she had once been—had disappeared with her mother, _not_ following the betrayal by Coach Tim as she used to think.

She had made a promise to herself last night. Maddy had promised to begin living her life again and the first thing that she had to do was allow herself to become closer to her gymnasts. They trusted her with their careers and their lives…now it was Maddy's turn to do the same.

Second on her list of topics to debate with herself was Sasha, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. It was still too soon. Someday she knew that she would have to sort through her feelings about him, but she wasn't ready to just yet. First, she had to find her heart before she could explore the emotions within it.

Pushing Sasha from her mind indefinitely, Maddy then moved on to the third order of business and the one that she knew was going to be the worst to resolve: she had to apologize to Steve Tanner and rescind her unfair and counterproductive ultimatum. Maddy had considered driving over to Steve's house after her talk with Summer last night, but she knew that Steve would handle her apology better after a full night's sleep…or so she hoped. The thing that she was most regretful about from yesterday's temper tantrum was her demand that they find a new coach quickly and she mentally kicked herself for her selfishness.

Finding a coach was an arduous process. First, you had to find someone with the ability and desire to be a full-time coach of such a demanding and prestigious gym. Then you had to find someone that the gymnasts could work well with and respect. There were several other factors, but Maddy cringed when she suddenly realized that the coach also had to be amenable to working with _her_, the pariah of gymnastics.

_Time_. That was the most important thing that was needed to find the right coach. This person would be responsible for taking the gymnasts to the Olympics and if the process was rushed, the results could be disastrous.

Guilt twisted in Maddy's stomach. She had done just that. She had forced Steve to rush and now she had to take it back before it was too late, which was the reason that Maddy was here at the Rock literally at the crack of dawn. She wanted to make sure that she was the first person Steve saw so that she had a prime opportunity to grovel at his feet for forgiveness.

Sighing, Maddy gripped the bar underneath her tightly and swung down from her position, letting her body rock back and forth like a pendulum while disgust left a bitter taste in her mouth as she prepared to swallow her pride.

When her body swung itself into a standstill, Maddy released her hands and landed nimbly on the mat, ready to start the new day.

* * *

A few hours later, Maddy finally breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Lauren enter the gym, knowing that Steve wouldn't be far behind her. Just as she thought, Steve entered the gym moments after Lauren, looking like he was in a good mood.

"I'll be right back, Em," Maddy told Emily as she looked up at the girl practicing on the balance beam.

Emily nodded and so Maddy quickly headed in a direction that she knew would intercept Steve's path to the office.

"We need to talk," Maddy began when she finally came within speaking distance of Steve, noting that he looked both surprised and happy to see her. Confusion swept through Maddy and she wondered for the first time if Summer had relayed her apology from last night.

"Yes, we do," Steve answered with a smile. "Let's head into the office, shall we?"

Following closely behind him, Maddy waited until she placed one foot inside the office before launching into her speech. "I want to apologize before anything else is said," Maddy quickly interjected before Steve could speak. "What I did yesterday was…embarrassing to say the least. I'm so sorry for the things that I said and—"

Steve interrupted her. "It's all right," Steve said with a wave of his hand.

Shocked, Maddy stood absolutely still for several moments, her mouth quite literally hanging open in her surprise. That was it? Steve Tanner was placated with a simple apology? No way. There was something else going on here. "It's all right?" Maddy finally choked out in a voice that didn't sound exactly like her own.

"Yes, of course," Steve beamed with a dismissive shrug. "I know that you've been under an incredible amount of pressure lately and it was only to be expected that you experience a minor breakdown."

Maddy frowned at Steve's explanation, but didn't say anything, not sure if she was more upset by the insinuation that Steve believed she couldn't handle the responsibility of being head coach or his use of the word "breakdown".

"In any case," Steve continued as he grasped Maddy's upper arms, "You're looking much better today and your apology is appreciated."

Still unable to accept Steve's acceptance, Maddy blinked furiously as she expressed her gratitude. "Thank you," she began and continued honestly, "for being so understanding about yesterday. I expected to have to promise you the moon in order to convince you to forgive me."

Steve scoffed. "Why?" he said, placing his hands on his hips. "All you did was tell us the things that we needed to hear. And I think you'll be pleased to know that it worked."

Maddy's gratitude was instantly replaced by sinking dread. Clearing her throat, Maddy asked apprehensively, "What do you mean it worked?"

_What have I done?_ Maddy thought frantically to herself.

"You gave us the push we needed to finally get serious about finding a new coach," Steve replied, oblivious to Maddy's obvious discomfort.

Relief coursed through Maddy. She hadn't done anything that couldn't be taken back.

"Good," Maddy replied. "I want you to know that I understand finding a coach is a tough thing to do right now, especially so close to the Olympics. I _also_ want to make sure that you know I didn't mean what I said yesterday. You take all the time you need to find us the right coach. I'll be here until you do."

Steve opened his mouth to speak, but before any words came out, a voice from behind Maddy interrupted, saying, "I told you, Steve."

Maddy turned around, pleased to see that Kim had arrived and didn't look upset with her for yesterday's shenanigans. That pleasure quickly evaporated as Maddy realized that Kim was very upset with _Steve_. What had happened?

Kim dropped her purse heavily onto the desk and rounded on Steve. "I told you that she didn't mean any of it," Kim snapped. "I told you that we had time."

Steve shrugged and Maddy asked quietly, "Time for what?"

"Finding a better coach than the one Steve hired!" Kim exclaimed loudly.

Maddy brought her hand to her mouth to quiet her gasp of surprise and regret as she turned away from Kim to face Steve, staring at him with wide eyes.

"What did you do, Steve?" Maddy finally asked, lowering her hand from her face.

"Regardless of how Kim feels and of your apology," Steve began, "I still stand by my decision. She came highly recommended by the NGO and she too was an Olympic medalist. Not to mention that she already knows many of the girls."

"She knows the girls?" Maddy repeated. How could a coach know the gymnasts from the Rock? Had they taken lessons with her before?

"Yes," Kim said with a sigh. "Which is why I don't think it was a good idea. They'll have a hard time accepting her as an authority figure."

"She'll make them accept her," Steve countered. "She is their new coach, after all."

"But—" Kim started, but she was interrupted by Maddy.

"Time out!" Maddy said forcefully as she stepped between Steve and Kim, stopping their bickering. Turning to Steve, she asked, "Whom exactly did you hire?"

His smug smile and tone suggesting that he thought Maddy would be delighted at the news, Steve replied, "Darby Conrad."

Maddy's breath flowed out of her in utter surprise and disappointment. "Darby _Conrad_?" Maddy breathed disbelievingly. "That's it? That's the best you could do?"

Without waiting for an answer, Maddy's disappointment forced her to turn her back on Steve and Kim and practically sprint out of the office. Conscious of all the eyes on her, Maddy reminded herself to slow down and take the stairs one at a time and to shorten her strides as she headed toward the back door, refusing to think until she could do so alone.

Emerging into the still crisp morning air, Maddy began to pace back and forth in a fevered frenzy, her arms folded across her chest as she absentmindedly chewed on her thumbnail.

_Darby Conrad?_ She was as much a child as Maddy was! What had Steve been thinking?

_I did this_, Maddy thought despairingly. Reflecting on what an untested and untried coach meant for the gymnasts, she couldn't help but groan. If Darby didn't work out, then all the Rock's gymnasts' Olympic hopes were about to die because of Maddy, because of her temper, because she couldn't bring herself to move on from Sasha's betrayal in time.

Falling heavily onto the brick wall, Maddy leaned her head back despairingly, but then a new hope stirred within her chest. Steve had said that the gymnasts _knew_ Darby. Perhaps things weren't so hopeless as Maddy feared. If the gymnasts had someone to look up to—someone to respect and push them—then maybe they would maintain the discipline and drive to finish the work that Sasha had begun and hone their skills to compete to the best of their abilities. And maybe Darby—a gymnast who had been on the circuit a few years before Maddy—would be more forgiving of _Maddy_ since she was so much younger than other potential coaches and needed Maddy's help to assimilate to the Rock. Maybe they would work well together since they were of a similar age. Maybe they could be friends.

Granted, Darby wasn't the sort of coach that Maddy had hoped for, but maybe that was a good thing. Maddy had trusted and believed entirely in Sasha and look how _that_ had turned out. Maybe throwing a completely different sort of person into the mix was just what the Rock needed to pull itself out of this funk.

Unusually optimistic, Maddy nodded resolutely and grinned.

Pushing herself off the wall, Maddy reached a hand out and pulled open the door, slipping back inside the gym and purposefully walking back to the office. Sprinting up the stairs two at a time, Maddy turned quickly back into the office, interrupting a hushed argument that Steve and Kim were hissing at each other, clearly upset. Kim turned toward Maddy with a look of despair and commiseration on her face, frowning once she saw the reassuring expression on Maddy's face.

Addressing both of them, Maddy stated, "We'll make this work."

"But—" Kim protested as she stepped forward, stopped by Maddy's ensuing interruption.

"This will work," Maddy reassured Kim firmly, staring intensely into the woman's eyes. Smiling deprecatingly, Maddy shrugged, "I'll make it work somehow."

Without waiting for another response, Maddy turned her back on Kim and Steve and walked down the stairs, but she heard a small part within her plead, _Please let this work._

* * *

The following morning, Maddy absentmindedly angled her SUV into a parking space outside _Caffeine Bean_, the local café at which she stopped most mornings to pick up a beverage before heading in to the Rock. Sliding out of her seat, she couldn't keep from returning to the thoughts that had been running through her mind ever since Steve had told her about Darby becoming the new head coach at the Rock. As she did so, Maddy felt a gnawing in the pit of her stomach that felt an awful lot like dread… and fear. There were no remaining traces of the hope and certainty that she had felt just yesterday.

_Oh lordy,_ she thought to herself. _How the heck am I going to make it through today?_

Silently, she wished with all her might that the day would end quickly, that she could hasten through all the awkwardness and trouble that today would most certainly bring and just skip to tomorrow where things would hopefully be slightly better and somewhat less painful.

Sighing audibly, Maddy thunked her head against the steering wheel more forcefully than she had anticipated. Scoffing humorlessly at her own clumsiness, she took a deep breath and pushed open her car door, sliding down to the pavement as she thought back to the previous day. The day that had followed her fatal blow-up with Steve, Kim, and Summer, which Maddy referred to affectionately as "The Day I Royally Fucked Everything Up."

Slamming the car door behind her, she rolled her eyes at herself.

She couldn't explain either the fear or dread that churned in her stomach. She had known Darby. While they had not been friends—due to the age and geographical difference between them—Maddy had seen her training ethic first hand and it had been impressive, but still… something was bothering her. Maddy just had this gut feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong this morning.

Was it jealousy? Was that what was causing Maddy's spidey-sense to jangle? Did she just not _want_ to give up her position of head coach at the Rock? Even as she thought it, Maddy discounted the very notion. She had told the parents' board the truth when she said that she was too young and the responsibility was too great for someone as inexperienced as she was. But was _Darby Conrad_—who was only two years Maddy's senior—any better?

Shaking her head as Maddy stepped up to the counter, she ordered a cup of black coffee and then, with a distracted smile, thanked the young lady who handed it to her. Instead of returning straight to her car however, Maddy found herself gravitating toward one of the small, round tables next to the window, sitting down and leaning back comfortably in the chair, her hands resting on the table as she continued to stare into space, lost in her thoughts.

She was so absorbed in her wanderings in fact, that she jumped horribly and just managed to keep from spilling her coffee as a male voice greeted, "Hi, there. Do you mind if I join you?"

Running a hand through her tousled hair to push it out of her face, Maddy looked up at the handsome man who had interrupted her worrying. He was young, probably in his late-twenties, with dark brown curly hair that brushed down over his ears and golden brown eyes that were hidden behind delicate, black-framed glasses. He was smiling at her, his teeth white against his lightly tanned skin, but Maddy noticed that his cheeks were tinged with a faint red color. He was _blushing_.

Intrigued, Maddy gestured with her free hand to the chair situated opposite her, smiling back kindly in response.

"I'm Peter," he continued once he had taken her invitation to sit, meeting her eyes boldly.

"Maddy," she offered with a bemused smile.

"Well, Maddy," Peter said with a charming, warm smile. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Bewildered—and blushing horribly—Maddy smiled genuinely and responded, "Likewise."

There was a comfortable silence then as the two gazed at each other, smiling foolishly, but Maddy broke it with a small chuckle as she brought her coffee cup to her lips, blowing on the hot liquid gently before taking a small sip.

A thought occurred to her suddenly and she pulled her cup away from her lips. Narrowing her eyes at Peter, she asked with a puzzled smile, "Finally?"

"Hmm?" Peter asked confusedly at her seemingly random question.

Playfully suspicious, Maddy clarified, "You said that it was nice to _finally_ meet me."

Peter's eyes widened and his blush deepened, suggesting to Maddy that he had let some awful secret slip. Sighing, Peter gathered his courage and divulged, "I come here every morning for coffee. Did you know that?"

Sheepishly, Maddy shook her head no, wondering where he was headed with this comment.

"Didn't think so," Peter replied, as though he was disappointed she had never noticed him. Waving his free hand in a dismissive gesture, he shrugged as he lied, "It doesn't matter." He shifted uncomfortably in his chair as he leaned forward, again gesturing with his hand as he continued, "But anyways, I come here every morning at about the same time you do…and every morning, I try to work up the nerve to talk to you." His eyes, which had been avoiding her gaze previously, quickly met hers before darting away again, betraying his embarrassment.

Feeling a blush tint her own cheeks, Maddy raised her cup to her lips and took a scalding sip as she reflected on what Peter had said. How had she never noticed this man before? Taking another quick look at his face, Maddy allowed herself to really study him and realized that he was drop-dead gorgeous. And _he_ was too intimidated to talk with _her_? Sitting across from him, she could barely remember her own _name_.

Forcing herself to calm down, Maddy raised her eyes and caught his, forcefully holding his gaze despite the roiling of the butterflies in her own stomach. Giving him a small smile, she raised her coffee cup to her lips as she said, "I didn't realize that I was so terrifying."

Just as she hoped, he laughed, his face breaking into a crooked, charming grin.

"Yes, well," he began, the grin slowly fading, "I've never seen you smile. Mostly, you just frown."

"I do not!" Maddy laughed, shocked.

He didn't answer her with words, but instead cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow, giving her a look that said, "You know I'm right."

Sighing, Maddy nodded her head concessively and said, "All right. I _suppose_ that I've had a few unpleasant things on my mind lately."

"Such as?" Peter inquired in a friendly manner.

Surprising herself, Maddy found herself answering honestly, "My job."

"What do you do?" he asked conversationally.

"I work at the Rocky Mountain Gymnastics Center," Maddy replied hesitantly, not yet wanting to divulge her entire sordid past.

"Oh," Peter acknowledged. "You're a Rock girl, huh?"

Maddy laughed. "Something like that," she answered, rolling her eyes. Trying to change the subject, she turned the interrogation onto him. "And so what is it you do, Peter?" she asked.

Leaning back in his chair, Peter replied, "I'm a history teacher at the local high school."

"No way," Maddy responded, surprised that he was a teacher and so young. "Do you like it?" she questioned interestedly.

"Yeah, I do," he said with a smile. Frowning, he leaned forward again and rested his elbows on the table as he said, "But, we were talking about you." Smiling, he returned to the previous subject, having noticed her pathetic attempt at evasion. "So what is it about your job that has you frowning lately?"

Sighing heavily, Maddy was pleasantly surprised to find that she didn't mind his questions. In fact, it was almost nice to have a conversation with someone who seemed to know nothing about her. Normally she would have been angered by someone interrogating her, but Peter's easy-going attitude and friendly demeanor were exceptionally pleasing to her.

But that didn't mean she wanted to dump all of her cumbersome baggage on him right away. Licking her lips, Maddy answered, "It's sort of complicated and I'm not sure I want to talk about it just yet." Smiling to let him know that she wasn't upset with him, she hurriedly continued, "Maybe some other time though?"

His grin fading, his eyes grew serious as he replied, "Sure. Maybe over dinner? Tomorrow night?" He tried to suggest it casually, but his tapping fingers gave away his nervousness.

Maddy's eyes widened in shock. Had he just asked her out? Running his question through her mind again, she was even more surprised when she confirmed that, yes, Peter had just asked her out on a date. Should she go?

Immediately, Sasha's face swam before her eyes, the picture as clear as if he were standing right in front of her, as if he had never left. There was a time that she had thought maybe she and Sasha would have made a handsome and compatible couple, but she had been proven utterly wrong only a few months ago. His proclamation of love had only filled her with anger.

But Peter was _not_ Sasha. In fact, from what she could tell, he was the exact _opposite_ of Sasha.

Peter smiled where Sasha rarely had. Peter was polite and outgoing where Sasha could often be taciturn and withdrawn. Peter had something about him that made her want to smile and laugh all the time, like she used to.

Perhaps Sasha had been right for the Maddy that she had been three days ago, but, after turning over her new leaf the other night, perhaps someone like Peter was more her style.

Realizing that she wanted to accept Peter's proposal of a date, Maddy suddenly knew that it was unfair to say yes without explaining how complicated her life truly was right now with the Rock, Darby…and Sasha.

"I wish that I could say yes," Maddy replied honestly and disappointedly, pausing as she tried to figure out a way to continue.

"But you're seeing someone," Peter filled in the silence for her, avoiding her eyes now.

"No!" Maddy contradicted quickly, leaning forward and placing her hand lightly upon his own. "No that's not it at all."

Peter looked back up at her hopefully.

"It's just that—" Maddy broke off, again trying to find the best way to explain. Sighing, she pulled her hand away and tried, "Remember how I said that things were complicated at work?"

Peter nodded.

"It's not just at work that things are complicated. I have a lot going on in my life," Maddy clumsily explained. Closing her eyes, she spat out, "What I mean is that it's not a good time for me _right now_, but maybe in a few weeks?"

Peter grinned again and reached for a napkin, pulling a red Sharpie from his pocket. Leaning down over the linen, he wrote for a moment and then pushed it toward Maddy. She looked down at what he had written and smiled. Across the table, Peter grabbed his coffee cup and stood. Picking up the napkin on which he had scribbled his number, Maddy looked up at him from beneath her light eyelashes and asked coyly, "And what is this for?"

"For when things are less complicated," Peter answered, shrugging. He then leaned down toward her slightly and continued softly, "Or even before." Standing upright again, he winked at her and turned to walk away. After a few steps, he turned quickly back to a bemused Maddy, tipped his cup at her, and said, "See you tomorrow, Maddy."

Blushing as she watched him leave with a giddy smile on her face, Maddy again wished fervently that tomorrow would hurry up and come soon, this time for a completely different reason than before.

* * *

The giddiness and good mood that stemmed from her unexpected encounter with Peter that morning sustained Maddy for almost half the day. Whenever her nerves became too great or a cold sweat beaded on her forehead, just thinking back to his embarrassed smile brought her butterflies back to life, dispelling any sense of dread that she had been experiencing.

She couldn't remember the last time that she had had such a good feeling about someone. Hell, she couldn't even remember the last time she had felt this good!

Peter seemed like the perfect gentleman and Maddy often found her thoughts wandering toward him, wondering where he was from, what grade he taught, how he had decided to become a teacher, and did he really get coffee every morning?...

"Maddy!"

An insistent shout yanked her from her reverie. Shaking her head to clear the cobwebs, Maddy looked up to see Payson gesturing to her from near the vault. Nodding her head, Maddy told the young woman she had been working with to continue and then she strode over to Payson.

"What's up?" she asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"_'What's up?_'" Payson repeated incredulously. "I've only been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes."

"Sorry," Maddy apologized quickly. Smiling, she explained, "I've just had something on my mind."

"Yeah, you and everyone else in the gym," Payson responded with a roll of her eyes.

Frowning, Maddy asked confusedly, "What do you mean?"

"The new coach?" Payson replied hesitantly. At Maddy's confused expression, Payson's eyes widened and she clapped a hand to her mouth. "You didn't know?"

"No," Maddy quickly contradicted. "I mean, yes. I did know. I just didn't know that _everybody_ knew. I was under the impression that it was a surprise."

Payson rolled her eyes again. "Steve told Lauren so, naturally, the entire gym knew in a matter of minutes," Payson explained drolly.

Maddy laughed. "So what did you need, Payson?" Maddy asked, wondering why Payson had asked her to come over.

Taking a deep breath, Payson nervously twisted her hands as she hesitantly divulged, "I was thinking about changing my vault routine a little."

Maddy settled back on her heels, listening.

Payson nodded and hurriedly finished in a single exhale, "I want to turn it into a front handspring under the horse into a front tuck half."

Maddy's only immediate response was to blink twice.

Raising her hands toward Maddy, Payson quickly continued, "I know that it's a really difficult power vault, but—"

"You're right," Maddy interrupted authoritatively. "It _is_ a difficult power vault. _Power_ vault, Payson," she repeated for emphasis.

"I know," Payson conceded, but she was far from ready to give up trying to convince Maddy. She took a deep breath to keep going, but Maddy placed a hand on Payson's shoulder, silencing the girl.

"I know this is hard for you," Maddy began, "but—"

"No, you don't know," Payson interrupted quietly. "You chose to be an artistic gymnast. I didn't."

Smiling gently, Maddy responded, "I had no more control over the growth of my body than you did. My body decided that I would be tall, but I understand what you mean. I embraced artistic gymnastics. I loved it. Still do."

"I do, too," Payson sighed, frustrated. "But sometimes I just wish..." she trailed off.

"So did I," Maddy confided, knowing that Payson meant she wished she could still do power gymnastics.

Payson's head whipped up to meet Maddy's eyes. "Really?" she asked.

"Mhmm," Maddy confirmed. "There was this one time—after the gym had closed and my coach wasn't watching—I must have spent _hours_ trying to land this vault I'd seen a girl try earlier that day. Man, I was _so convinced_ that I could learn to do it."

"Did you?"

Leaning forward toward Payson, Maddy replied honestly, "I've never eaten more mat than I did that day. Ever."

Payson smiled.

"I wanted that vault," Maddy continued. "More than anything. I set all my determination, all my strength, into mastering it, but my body just wouldn't let me." Maddy paused, "It was hard. Admitting that I couldn't do something I set my mind to, but I don't regret trying. I learned what my limits were that day. One day, you'll understand yours."

There was a long pause, but then Payson asked with a sigh, "So you won't help me?"

Slipping back into her coach mode, Maddy stood up straight and said forcefully, "I was perfectly healthy when I tried to master that vault. And I still couldn't do it. But you, Payson, after what you've been through? I'm afraid that you'll seriously hurt yourself if you pursue this. So no, I will not teach you this and—if I see you trying?—I'll have you clean every mat in this gym. Twice."

Without waiting for her complaint, Maddy spun on her heel and walked away, hoping that she had managed to get through to the young gymnast.

* * *

The moment finally came.

"Excuse me, everyone," Steve's voice rang through the gym at about noon. "Can I have everyone's attention, please?"

Maddy closed her eyes and bowed her head, pinching the bridge of her nose with a sigh. To herself, she whispered, "Here we go," but then when she raised her head and walked over to Steve, there was a bright smile on her face as she tried to convince everyone that she was happy with the upcoming events.

"As you all know," Steve continued when Maddy had made it to his side, "We've been looking for a new head coach and I'm happy to report that we've finally found someone qualified and honored to come and work with us."

Looking out over the gathered gymnasts, Maddy's sense of unease grew as she saw several skeptical and unimpressed expressions and she couldn't help but wonder what they knew about Darby that she didn't.

"She's a two-time silver Olympic medalist who trained right here at the Rock," Steve continued obliviously, "please join me in welcoming our new coach, Darby Conrad!"

Steve turned and opened one of the double doors behind him, revealing a beaming woman standing behind the door. Confidently, she strode into the gym with a bouncy gait and raised a hand, waving it excitedly as she said, "Hi!"

Her enthusiasm surprised Maddy, but she refused to show any discomfort or foreboding, aware of all the eyes that were on her, waiting for her reaction.

Darby continued speaking like an overexcited teenager. "First of all, yay!" she screamed. "I am so stoked to be here in the company of the three most elite gymnasts in the country…"

Darby continued talking but Maddy stopped listening as she heard Payson whisper to Emily, "And from serious gym to silly sorority."

Frowning, Maddy bit the inside of her cheek. She had been under the impression that Lauren and Darby had met at gymnastics camp and had hit it off, assuming then that Payson must also have liked and respected Darby, but her comment seemed to suggest the opposite. Clearly, Payson wasn't pleased with the turn of events.

The knot in Maddy's stomach grew.

Tuning back into what Darby was saying, Maddy heard, "…So I won't be imposing all these rules on what you eat or even when you come into the gym!" Darby clasped her hands in front of her, smiled conspiratorially at many of the gymnasts, and finished, "And I also won't be imposing any sort of dating policy on you guys. I believe that you're all mature enough to make your own decisions."

Thoroughly shocked, Maddy let the first sign of her worry show on her face as her mouth fell open in astonishment. She hurried to close it, but with Darby's next comment, it fell open again, this time accompanied by her eyes widening and a small head shake at the absurdity of the situation.

Serious, Darby bowed as she finished, "You are the masters of your universe and I bow to the powerful goddess within you all."

Glad that everyone seemed to be staring at Darby and not their assistant coach, Maddy took the opportunity to gather herself and returned her expression to one of support and approval, albeit with a great amount of effort.

Looking around her, Maddy saw that many girls were huddling close to their neighbors and whispering softly, giggling and smiling behind their hands in their pleasure at the lifting of the dating ban. The boys seemed quite pleased as well, though they didn't show it in such an obvious manner.

What was Darby thinking? In just a moment, she had taken away all the structure and guidelines for these kids, leaving them to "be the masters of their universe". What she being serious?

Maddy considered those rules exceptionally important, not just to keep their gymnasts from getting into trouble, but to keep the atmosphere in the gymnasium professional. Furthermore, enforcing those rules clearly delineated the lines between coach and gymnast. Would the kids follow Maddy's instruction so closely and without hesitation if they didn't need to follow her other rules?

Maddy snapped back to the present as she felt Steve's hand upon her arm. "Shall we convene in the office, ladies?" he asked with a smile.

Still glancing uncertainly at Darby, Maddy nodded and allowed Steve to steer her toward the stairs and the gym's office, trying to debate how she could easily broach her concerns with Darby. Kim and Steve had both informed her that this was Darby's first real coaching job and as such, Maddy feared that she would be adamant about making her own way, thereby refusing and resenting any advice that Maddy might give.

Sighing, Maddy reflected that it had never been this tense and awkward working with Sasha. She had never questioned whether to speak her mind or respect his decisions. He had been completely open to her ideas and they had worked as a team, as partners.

But Maddy could already tell that that wasn't going to be the way with Darby. Already, Maddy felt a coldness and standoffishness emanating from her, most likely stemming from both Maddy's checkered past and Darby's desire to succeed as a coach on her own. There would be no team, but instead the clearly defined roles of head coach and assistant.

Readying herself for the ensuing confrontation, Maddy rolled her head on her shoulders subtly and planted her feet as she folded her arms across her chest, turning to face both a beaming Steve and an equally ecstatic Darby.

"Darby," Steve began, "I'd like to introduce you to our assistant coach here, Madelyn Reynolds."

Politely, Maddy extended her hand and smiled, that smile disappearing in shock as Darby grasped Maddy's hand with both of her own and replied, "I know. We've met. It's a pleasure to be working with you."

Thoroughly shocked at the apparent sincerity of her words, Maddy spoke without thinking. "It is?" she asked incredulously.

Darby laughed at the confused expression on Maddy's face. "Of course it is! I can see that you've done an amazing job holding this gym together after…" Darby trailed off and looked back uncertainly at Steve, sensing that she had begun to broach a subject that was still sensitive after all this time. Whether it was Darby's own evaluation of Sasha as a sensitive topic or whether Maddy had instinctively stiffened slightly at the approaching mention of Sasha's resignation, Maddy couldn't be sure, but she was determined to quell the awkwardness that had suddenly pervaded the room.

Bravely, she retrieved her hand and let her posture relax, hoping to soothe everyone's nerves as she said with a smile, "Sasha's leaving was…hard…for this gym to take, but I believe that we've all moved past it and we're looking forward to seeing what you will be able to do as a coach here. I myself am more than happy to help you in any way that I can." Maddy paused and gestured toward the floor of the Rock, continuing, "I've worked with all of these gymnasts since Coach Belov's departure and so I know their strengths and weaknesses and, while I'm sure that you would like to observe them for yourself, I would be glad to give you the basics."

"That would be fantastic," Darby said, just as Steve's phone rang shrilly from his pocket. After excusing himself, Darby leaned closer and said with a heavy sense of relief, "I'm so glad that you're on board with me coaching here. I was afraid that you would make it hard for me."

Again surprised, Maddy immediately asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Darby began, "I know that you've been acting as temporary head coach and I wasn't sure that you would be willing to return to your previous position as assistant."

"They didn't tell you?" Maddy asked incredulously. Shaking her head, Maddy divulged, "I asked them to find a new coach. I didn't _want_ to be the head coach anymore."

Darby's eyes widened in an unspoken question and so Maddy quickly answered it, "When Coach Belov offered me the job here, I took it because I saw that I would be able to work one-on-one with the gymnasts. I saw that I could focus my attentions on a few gymnasts a day and I knew that I could help make a difference in their skill. But the last few months, I've been too busy to really give them the time that I used to and I've seen their performances suffer as a result."

"Why not ask the board to hire an assistant coach and then stay on as the head coach?" Darby asked with a frown.

Maddy laughed, deciding that it was time to change the subject. "I don't like doing paperwork," she said with a smile, hoping to ease Darby's fears that she would stage a coup and demand Darby's job back as her own.

Darby laughed as well and both she and Maddy turned when they heard Steve enter the office again, his arm around Summer's shoulders as he followed her into the office.

"Hi," Summer said as she walked forward with her hand extended. "I'm Summer Van Horne. One of the co-managers here at the Rock."

Darby shook her hand and smiled. "Kim Keeler is the other, right?" she clarified.

"Yes, that's right," Summer confirmed and leaned back on her heels. Following a brief, almost awkward silence, Summer launched into the role of tour guide, leading Darby around the office. "So, Kim and I share this desk and this is Sash—" she just managed to catch herself and then finished, "—this is _your_ desk. Maddy's is over there, but she rarely does her work in here. Mainly, she's out on the floor and Kim and I handle the office responsibilities."

They all looked to Maddy, who gave them an innocent shrug with her hands held out to her sides, as though saying, "What're you going to do?",

"Oh gosh," Darby exclaimed. "It's a little tight in here. You guys and Sasha must have been all over each other." Darby finished with a small laugh, but Summer averted her eyes and Maddy forced herself to remain impassive.

"So," Steve said, clapping his hands together as he noticed the awkward tension in the room, "Do you have any questions or concerns?"

"Um," Darby took a moment to think and then shook her head. "I can't think of any."

"I can," Summer spoke up. "Structure is important for girls at this age and they've always had a strict starting time in the morning."

_God bless Summer_, Maddy thought to herself. She had been wondering about when and how to bring up the abolition of the more important rules that had previously been imposed upon the gymnasts. She was grateful that she wouldn't have to be the person to question Darby's judgment.

"With all due respect," Darby said with a smile, though her stiff posture indicated her defensive attitude, "they're no longer girls, they're young women. And I trust them to get to the gym on time because they choose to."

"Well," Summer rebutted, trying just as hard to remain polite, "sometimes they make the wrong choices, which is also why I'm concerned with lifting the no dating rule." Summer turned to look at Steve for support. "We've had problems in the past with girls fraternizing with boys in the gym."

"So the rules are just there to be broken?" Darby asked coldly.

"They're there to set the bar for what's expected of them," Summer explained.

"A dedicated gymnast sets her own bar higher every day," Darby replied, "but I'm only here to help her realize the expectations she has for herself. Look, oppression encourages rebellion, so why not liberate these young women and trust them to make the right choices for a change?"

Darby turned away from Summer then, effectively ending the conversation, but Maddy had a clear view of the glare that Summer gave to Steve, wondering if maybe Summer had not been on board with hiring Darby in the first place.

Deciding that, for now, it would be easier to work with Darby and convince her to change her rules if she cemented their friendship, Maddy made a spur of the moment decision. "You know, Steve," she began, "I was thinking that we should throw a party. A sort of 'Welcome to Rock' thing."

Steve's face brightened and Summer replied stiffly, "I think that's an excellent idea."

"Yeah, I thought so," Maddy replied, turning to Darby. "How's tonight? We can do it at my place. It'll give you a chance to get to know the gymnasts personally."

Darby smiled in appreciation and Maddy knew that it had been the right move. She and Darby needed to get along in order to work together, especially if Maddy wanted to maintain the same amount of authority and freedom that she had enjoyed when she had worked under Sasha. She and Sasha had respected each other, trusted each other, and she needed to build that relationship with Darby if she wanted this to work.

"I don't know what to say," Darby began, but Maddy cut her off.

"Say yes," Maddy laughed, walking over to the doorway before Darby had agreed.

Standing on the landing outside of the office, Maddy looked out over the gym and gave a shrill whistle. "Hey, listen up!" she called. When all the gymnasts had congregated near the stairs and Steve and Darby had joined her, Maddy continued, "In honor of our new coach, the Rock is throwing a welcome party for Darby." There was a scattering of applause and Maddy finished, "It's going to be tonight at my place. If anyone needs directions or a ride speak with Steve or myself." The gymnasts continued to stare at her, waiting for her to say something else, so Maddy made a shooing gesture with her hand and demanded with a smile, "Well, go on. Get back to work."

As the gymnasts walked away, Maddy turned around and led the way back into the office. She leaned down beside her desk and grabbed her duffel bag, straightening as she said, "I hate to run, but I was thinking maybe it would be best for you, Darby, to have the Rock to yourself today. What do you think? It'll give you a chance to get to know the gymnasts."

Darby looked suddenly nervous, but she replied, "Sure. That's a great idea."

"Awesome," Maddy said. "In that case, I'll see you tonight."

Maddy then began walking towards the doorway of the office, lightly snagging Summer's arm on the way. "Come on, Summer," she cajoled, "We're going shopping."

Laughing, Summer just managed to hook her fingers around the straps of her purse as she was dragged out by Maddy. Maddy led Summer down the stairs and then turned to look back up at Darby. With a smile and wink, she called, "Have fun."

Walking out of the Rock, Maddy sincerely hoped that Darby would be able to hold her own.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and hopefully I won't take too long writing the next chapter! **


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